Proposition of 13th Game is On-Brand For Vanderbilt Football; Column

NASHVILLE—It takes a special mix of vision, confidence and borderline delusion for a program of Vanderbilt’s stature in the national media landscape to become a contender for college football’s most polarizing team, yet here it is.

The country can say what it wants about Vanderbilt football, but it has an opinion. At the very least it knows what’s going on with it. Some level of consensus is inspired by the band of “misfits” Clark Lea put together defying odds individually and as a whole. Some of the general population loves Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and the enigma he is. Some believe that what Pavia as well this Vanderbilt program stand for is ludicrous and is precisely the issue with college football these days.

Lea’s previously perennially losing program has gotten to its 10-2 record and a No. 14 by zigging when others have zag’d. It raided a group of five program for a revamp after a 2-10 season in 2023. Its star quarterback is only here as a result of an unprecedented lawsuit that ultimately granted him another season of eligibility. The lawsuits have continued as Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson and defensive lineman Yilanan Ouattara have headlined one that pushes for the five-for-five–which would give players five seasons to play five years–to get passed in college football.

If there’s something that defines this Vanderbilt program, it’s that it’s acted on its convictions without fear of public backlash. It starts with its leader–who declared years ago that his program would be the best in college football while it was still a bottomfeeder–and has been passed down to its quarterback–whose impenetrable confidence has preceded him. Fear of the external has never stopped this program. It certainly didn’t this week.

Rather than bowing out and waiting to receive word of its near-inevitable destiny, Vanderbilt pushed the College Football Playoff committee to reconsider it with a Monday press conference that was called on short notice to promote its resume. Pavia made news later in the week by requesting an executive order from United States president Donald Trump to expand the playoff to 16 teams. The final effort was a push from Vanderbilt administration to find a way into a 13th game, sources indicated to Vandy on SI. Vanderbilt admitted as much once the plan fell through in the late stages of the week.

“We explored the 13th-game option for one reason: this team has earned the chance to keep fighting. Coach Lea has said he’ll play anytime, anywhere, and our guys would have stepped on the field with a phone call’s notice,” a school statement said. “The logistics and legislative constraints didn’t make it possible.”

Call the move desperation. Call it a final cry from a team that didn’t do quite enough to hear its name called when the field is selected. The move embodies what this program is, though. It’s one that hasn’t backed down from anyone and has desperately worked to prove itself. It’s one with endless belief in what it can do. It’s also one that’s often found an identity as a trend maker in a sport that is consistently changing these days.

Lea says that any prospect that chooses this program is a “visionary” and is choosing a program that is currently rewriting its history rather than displaying decades worth of history that it’s already accumulated. When the 2025 iteration of Vanderbilt football is remembered, its legacy should include its willingness to rewrite norms–and rules–as well as its rare ability to be unafraid of steering off the beaten path and taking risks.

When Vanderbilt’s players heard of their administration’s push to give them one more chance, they should have done a double take, but they should’ve known that it was a serious proposition that those around them were pushing for another game.

“My challenge to them was to continue to fight,” Lea said. “I told them to have their bags packed if a team calls us up and wants us to go play them on Saturday. If I have two days to prepare a team, we’ll get a plane and we’ll get there Friday night and play on Saturday.”

The possibility of a game in New York–which was thrown around as a potential site–or somewhere else in the country against another bubble team was shot down just early enough for Vanderbilt’s move to stop short of becoming a top national storyline. Lea and company tried, though.

That’s on brand, for better or for worse.