Column: Vanderbilt Football Makes Statement By Blowing Out Virginia Tech In Typical SEC Fashion
In this story:
Blacksburg, VA—Clark Lea wouldn’t have drawn it up this way, but he didn’t need to in order for the stands at Lane Stadium to empty out by the middle of the fourth quarter and for his team to run off of the field smiling and riling up the contingent of Vanderbilt fans that had all migrated down to the front row of the bleachers at the sold-out stadium.
That move dignified Vanderbilt’s fanbase, which has often had to leave places like Virginia Tech with its head down in acceptance of a loss. Not this time, though. That group of stragglers took on the identity of the team that they drove six hours north to see. They didn’t have to apologize for being where others felt as if they didn’t belong. They were just there. Even if they’d never been there before, they acted as if it was a weekly routine.
So did Vanderbilt's players. Tre Richardson smiled, Khordae Sydnor waved his hands towards the contingent of Vanderbilt fans, Diego Pavia wrapped his arm around his sister and ran into the tunnel.
Strange and mysterious things happened to Vanderbilt football all night on Saturday, yet the final score–and Vanderbilt’s mood as it ran off the field–doesn’t reflect any of that. It defied all odds and evidence that rational thinking would’ve provided, but isn’t that what all this is about at this point? Isn’t this Vanderbilt program about defying the odds?
Vanderbilt had 11 penalties for 74 yards relative to Virginia Tech’s three for 30 yards. It turned it over twice while Virginia Tech didn’t turn it over. It trailed for nearly the entire first half. Brock Taylor missed an extra point. It trailed by 10 at halftime. Yet, when it was all said and done, the scoreboard read Vanderbilt: 44, Virginia Tech: 20.
“I’m really proud of my team,” Lea said. “We were good enough tonight to hang in there and part of that is talent, but I think it’s also resilience. I’ve got a ton of respect for my team. They never panic. Tough environment where we start out kind of flat and we were feeding the environment, and we just didn’t flinch.”
Maybe it wasn’t all that Javier Pavia envisioned as he stood in the end zone bleachers of Lane Stadium waving his Pavia flag around and said that he expected his brother to throw for five touchdowns “at minimum” on Saturday night, but it was enough for Vanderbilt football to leave a sold-out Lane Stadium with a win and all of its aspirations still intact.
Say what you will about Vanderbilt’s first-half performance–Lea certainly will–but his group never punted, it outscored Virginia Tech 34-0 in the second half and it outgained it 321 yards to 21. It also didn’t surrender a rushing yard in the half. Vanderbilt–and particularly its defense–was completely dominant in every sense.
“I just feel like all 11 guys on the same page, we’re scary,” Vanderbilt safety CJ Heard said. “I feel like what’s scary about our defense is in the first have we were hurting ourselves. They didn’t do anything that coach Gregory and our coaches didn’t prepare us for.”
Saturday night should’ve taught Vanderbilt football that it’s got plenty of room to go as a program. It should’ve also learned that if it puts it all together, it’s got a chance to be better than it’s been at any point in recent memory.
“I think we are a really good team when we play well,” Lea said. “I think it speaks a lot about the character of our team. Now our job is to clean up the playing of the football. We can do that.”
The idea surrounding Clark Lea’s program has always been that it’s had to be perfect to win these types of games. It had to do the little things better than anyone else if it wanted to find a way to be successful.
The truth about Saturday night is that saying Vanderbilt won this game in the margins would be disingenuous. Saying that it did the little things well enough to win–as its historical past says it has to–would also be misleading. Vanderbilt football wasn’t at its best on Saturday night.
Yet, it didn’t matter.
This Vanderbilt team thought it was going to make a statement with a strong performance start-to-finish and an outing that solidified all of its aspirations. What it did unintentionally on Saturday was perhaps a stronger statement than the one it intended to make, though.
The statement that Vanderbilt made on Saturday is that it doesn’t have to be confined to its past. It’s that it can win the old fashioned SEC way rather than sneaking around and hoping for near perfection.
Turns out that near perfection isn’t required for this team to go on the road and beat a team that it’s a 1.5-point underdog against. Instead, pushing it around up front, hitting on explosive plays and wearing it down on the line of scrimmage will suffice.
Vanderbilt ran for 7.1 yards per carry on Saturday night. It put together three-consecutive scoring drives that lasted over five minutes. It shut down a crucial Virginia Tech drive that could’ve gotten it back in the game. It got out to a 24-point lead by the time it was all said and done.
It was in a situation where it was the better football team and rose to the top in the end despite a poor start. That same situation has plagued it many a time over the years when it was the other way around. Not this time, though.
This time, it was Vanderbilt football that could afford to make a mistake or two. This time, it was Vanderbilt football that was clearly more talented and motivated. This time, it was Vanderbilt football that propelled itself to a convincing victory. This time, it was Vanderbilt football that pushed the other team around.
“This is a new era of Vandy,” Vanderbilt center Jordan White said. “So, this is what you’re gonna expect.”
_(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