This Vanderbilt Football Team's Magnum Opus is in Reach; Column
In this story:
NASHVILLE—-He sat there in a black Vanderbilt jacket as if he was defeated and knew that the months ahead would be just as painful as the result of the outing his team had just put together in an eventual blowout loss to Tennessee. Something had to give.
In front of the less than handful of media members that made the trip out east to Neyland Stadium, Clark Lea sat there and looked for any way to explain how this had all gone wrong. His staff privately believed that the team that had just lost its 10th-consecutive game to end a two-win season had the ability to be a bowl game winner if everything went right.
Instead, it all went wrong for that group. Lea’s staff lost the locker room. His team never came within 15 points of an SEC opponent. It was enough to force painful staff decisions and a complete evaluation of what Lea had to change in order for this thing to work.
As Lea went through the dark days of winter and looked to reinvent aspects of his program’s attitude as well as its player personnel, he had days like Saturday in mind. Perhaps the Vanderbilt coach couldn’t even have drawn it up this well the last time his team took the field at Neyland Stadium.
Nearly two years removed from a day his program has looked back on as a flashpoint that indicated a need for change, it’s 9-2 with a chance to pick up a 10th win for the first time in program history in a rivalry game. More importantly, it’s got a chance to give the College Football Playoff committee a difficult decision as they choose the 12-team field.
This program sits in its golden age and has produced what will be considered its most successful team ever once this is all said and done. Lea’s group is still missing two things from its proverbial bucket list, though.
Vanderbilt is ranked No. 14 in the College Football Playoff rankings ahead of Tuesday’s re-evaluation–which could include it jumping Utah and Miami after its impressive 45-17 win over Kentucky–and may not control its own destiny. This group can’t control how the committee views it, all it can control is how it moves forward and gives it something to think about as it looks for its first Playoff berth in program history.
It’s been since 2018 since Vanderbilt won this deeply-personal matchup. It’s been that long since this game has been competitive. It feels as if it’s time for this group to restore some pride to this rivalry despite its past. This series has meant something to people all across this state, but the ones who have withstood the downs this program has gone through have yet to find much to cheer about in recent memory.
As a result, this Vanderbilt core–in its last chance to win the most important regular-season game on its schedule–has had this circled on the calendar. This particular group of retained players has taken down Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, LSU and South Carolina. Now they feel as if their magnum opus is within reach.
“Vanderbilt is going to run Tennessee after this year,” Pavia said this summer on the Bussin’ With The Boys Podcast. “This is gonna be the new staple of college football. It’s going to happen here at Vanderbilt. “Everyone wants to come to Tennessee (the state) because of Nashville. So they want to come to Nashville, so Vanderbilt. And then when we have the most money in NIL, why not come here? We literally just have to win this year and throughout the rest of the year, it’ll take care of itself.”
Pavia’s declaration is the epitome of the limitless confidence–which some would call borderline delusion–that’s gotten him and this team in the position for this thing to matter. Pavia went 8-for-17 for just 104 yards and was sacked three times against Tennessee last season, but this is no time for this program to dwell on the past. Everything is on the line on the Neyland Stadium field this weekend, time for Vanderbilt to transcend its past and answer the call.
One game for a chance at everything this Vanderbilt football team has dreamed of since it got together last January. One game for it to step into glory and to keep the path open for an outcome that can change this program forever.
“We need to be focused now on finishing at Tennessee and finishing in Knoxville,” Lea said after Vanderbilt’s win over Kentucky. “Obviously we want to play as long as we possibly can and we want to keep our goals within reach.”
The good times don’t have to stop for this Vanderbilt team, but it has to take care of its business as 3.5-point underdogs if it’s going to allow Lea a different posture in Saturday’s postgame press conference. It’s got a chance to secure the biggest, most important win of Lea’s tenure and Pavia’s career.
It’s playing diplomatic now, but expect this to get spicy. Enough is on the line to guarantee that.
“I’ve heard a lot about the stadium. I’m super excited,” Pavia said in a politically correct statement regarding the game that likely didn’t encapsulate his feelings in regard to this rivalry. “We've got everything we want ahead of us.”
_(1)-b3e453dfe426b2dd4b83a12540ebdb37.jpeg "Joey Dwyer")
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Southeastern 16 and Mainstreet Nashville.
Follow joey_dwy