Vanderbilt Football “Excited” For Bowl Game: The Anchor

Vanderbilt football is finishing its season in Tampa, Florida to finish off 2025 with a matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

The Commodores missed out on the College Football Playoff, but that is not stopping them from preparing like they would any other game this season. Vanderbilt head football coach Clark Lea showed his gratitude toward the opportunity in Sunday’s press conference.

“We're so excited to have this opportunity to close out a special season. I think these moments become really meaningful and emotional when you know the time and the place of your final climb. And that's what we learned today,” Lea said.

Iowa has long been a staple of consistency in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes have won at least six games in all but one season since 2001. The last time Iowa missed out on a bowl game was in 2012. The Hawkeyes hold a record of 5-7 in its bowl games during the span, including winning five of their last eight bowl games. They made it to the 2020 Music City Bowl, but the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iowa is led by head coach Kirk Ferentz, who has been the helm of the program since 1999. The last time Iowa played in this bowl was when it was called the Outback Bowl. Iowa beat Mississippi State in that game 27-22. This year’s ReliaQuest Bowl will be Vanderbilt’s first trip to the game.

“This group earned the right to go play against a really strong Iowa team. Iowa for so long has kind of set the standard for what sustained success looks like. And in our program that's something we're aspiring to. So there aren't a lot of coaches in the profession that garner more respect than Kirk Ferentz,” Lea said.

Vanderbilt is coming off a 10-2 regular season, the first time ever the program has made it to 10 or more wins. The Commodores ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak with wins against Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee. Vanderbilt feels like it ended November as one of the hottest teams in college football and will look to finish the right way on Dec. 31.

“I'm looking forward to being able to compete against his team and spend a little time with him in the process. And we're really excited and grateful for the opportunity,” Lea said.

Today’s Commodores Schedule

There are no games scheduled this weekend.

This Weekend’s Commodores Results Today

Vanderbilt women’s track and field recorded 10 marks in the program’s all-time top 10 at the Winter Commodore Challenge.

Did You Notice?

Vanderbilt women’s track and field got its 2025-2026 season started over the weekend with its only winter event, the Winter Commodore Challenge. Vanderbilt athletes finished with 10 marks ranking in the program’s all-time top 10 on Friday.

“We wanted to have this meet in December, because our athletes have been training so well,” cross country and track and field director Althea Thomas said. “We wanted an opportunity to break up the monotony of training and dial into some of the competitive juices needed to compete during championship season. This meet was a dress rehearsal. I think the athletes did extremely well remembering the things to execute and laying down another brick for the foundation.”

Cali Bryant got a first-place finish with a 1.74-meter mark. The result was tied for sixth in program history. In her collegiate debut, Janie Ford cleared 1.66 meters, which was good for sixth place.

Four different Vanderbilt athletes advanced to the 60-meter hurdles final, all of which recorded times within the hundredths of a second of their personal best preliminaries. In the final, Santana Spearman, Devyn Parham and Taylor McKinnon finished with personal best times and placed second through fourth

“This meet was exactly what we needed to end the fall season as we go into finals and get ready for the traditional indoor season in January,” Thomas said. “We had 10 top 10 marks in December, so that’s just a testament of what’s to come.”

Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Baseball Season Opener

71 days

Commodores Quote of The Day

“I’m a rebel at heart. Give me 5 rules and I’m going to try to break every one of them. I think a lot of us are like that. But if we can develop a system of principles, it then becomes a lifestyle instead of a list of ‘can’t-do’s.’ It makes decisions a lot easier, and I don’t feel like I’m fighting myself so much, as I try to live the right way.”
Chantelle Anderson