Where Vanderbilt Football Ranks in the Second College Football Rankings Release

Vanderbilt jumped up a couple spots in the newest rankings release from the playoff committee.

Vanderbilt wide receiver Tre Richardson (6) celebrates his touchdown against Auburn with wide receiver Junior Sherrill (0) during the third quarter at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The newest edition of the College Football rankings are here as the season moves one week closer to the end of the regular season and into postseason play. Last week, the College Football Playoff committee surprised quite a bit of people in terms of where some teams were ranked and how the committee values certain metrics.

For Vanderbilt, it was ranked No. 16 in the initial rankings release of the season. The Commodores were behind two ACC teams in Virginia and Louisville and just barely ahead of Georgia Tech. But after Vanderbilt’s 45-38 overtime win against Auburn, it jumped up to No. 14 in this week’s rankings.

Vanderbilt is behind No. 13 Utah and No. 12 BYU and is right in front of No. 15 Miami and No. 16 Georgia Tech. At 8-2, it seems that Vanderbilt is in control of its destiny. The Commodores have a bye week this week, so it is plausible to assume that next week’s rankings should not be a dramatic shift in position for them.

What helped Vanderbilt this past week was both Virginia and Louisville losing. Virginia, who was No. 14, lost a 16-9 game to Wake Forest and then-No. 15 Louisville dropped an overtime thriller to California at the Cardinals’ home stadium. Things could change, but with the chaos of the ACC this season, there is a solid likelihood the conference will only get the conference champion into the playoff due to the runner-up likely not having enough good wins nor a strong enough schedule to sneak in at the end.

This week, Vanderbilt fans can sit on the couch, relax and watch the games unfold without having to worry about being eliminated from contention. The Commodores have two games remaining: their final home games against Kentucky on Nov. 22 and the regular season finale at Tennessee on rivalry weekend.

Of course, nobody wants to assume anything, but if Vanderbilt were to win out it should earn a spot in the 12-team playoff bracket. However, the chances of Vanderbilt hosting a first round game (seeds No. 5-No. 8 host on-campus games) would not be near as likely. Vanderbilt would have to hope for more teams ahead to lose in order to host the first round. But a third loss to its record would effectively eliminate the Commodores from playoff contention one would think. 

“We're aiming for those playoffs, and that's important to us right now. It's going to be the best bye week we've ever had. Let's get freshened up and get rested,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said after the win against Auburn.

What fans learned from the first week of the committee’s rankings was that the committee seemed to respect head-to-head results throughout the poll. For example, Texas was placed at No. 11 over teams like No. 12 Oklahoma and No. 16 Vanderbilt, who both lost to the Longhorns despite all three teams having two losses. It will be interesting to see how the committee views teams over the next few weeks.

For now, Vanderbilt just needs to take care of business after the bye and do what it can to get to the playoffs for the first time in program history.