Vanderbilt Football is “Hungrier” as it Prepares for Rest of the Season

Vanderbilt football is coming off a loss, but the mentality of the team has not swayed from being confident.

Oct 4, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander (28) breaks a long touchdown run in the first quarter against Alabama at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt football returns to action this week as it gets another shot against a AP Top 10 team in No. 10 LSU this weekend. The Commodores are coming off their first bye week of the season and are looking to bounce back from the last time they were on the field when Vanderbilt lost to a top 10 Alabama team 30-14 in Tuscaloosa.

Following the loss postgame against Alabama, Vanderbilt players came away feeling like they had opportunities to make plays throughout the game that they felt could have swung the outcome in a different direction. 

But perhaps more importantly, there was no pouting or sadness in the tone of the players. The team knew 10 days ago that everything it wants to achieve is still in front of it, and the team still knows post-bye week that it remains in control of its own destiny. 

The players spoke with a determination and a desire to get back to work after the loss in the postgame room on Oct. 4. And that is exactly what transpired over the bye week. The mentality of the team remains strong.

“We’ve been dialed in each and every day. The Alabama loss made us even hungrier,” Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander said. “We knew that we didn't play up to the standard of Vanderbilt football. So we're coming out here and trying to play Vanderbilt football each and every day.”

Alexander’s comments are refreshing to hear for the Vanderbilt fanbase. The “hungrier” mentality is something that is a result of the culture that Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea has implemented in a short amount of time. However, Lea does not necessarily see his team’s mentality after its first loss of the season as hunger. He knew his team was already hungry. Lea sees it more so as belief in the mission going forward the rest of the season.

“We're pretty mission focused here. We feel the sting of the disappointment of a missed result, and we want to get back on the right side of that,” Lea said. “I think what he's [Alexander] pointing out is that it hurts, but we believe in what we're doing, and these guys have bounced back.”

Overall, Lea was quite pleased with the way he has seen his team respond after a loss. From a “spirited” bye week to getting rested up, and having fun in practice, Lea is happy to see the mindset his guys have taken on since the loss to Alabama.

After all, the Commodores do not have any other choice but to get back up and be more determined than before the loss. In a conference like the SEC where seemingly anything can happen against a relentless conference slate, Vanderbilt’s current mentality is where it needs to be. There are no easy games the rest of the way either as Vanderbilt hosts LSU this weekend.

Vanderbilt defensive lineman Zaylin Wood felt that while last game's loss humbled the team, it only helped the mentality for the back half of the schedule.

“Maybe some of us were complacent. I feel like it [the loss] took the complacency out of us as well. I feel like the Alabama game was what probably made us more hungry. We got a six game stretch right here, so we’re just trying to go 6-0,” Wood said.

Vanderbilt will look to become bowl eligible this weekend as the Commodores kickoff against the Tigers at 11 a.m. CT on ABC.