Who Vanderbilt Football Fans Should Cheer Against: The Anchor

The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night and Vanderbilt comes in at No. 16. The ranking is a spot lower than its No. 15 ranking in the latest AP Top 25. With the group of five team likely to be the No. 12-seed in the playoff bracket, it would mean that the Commodores would need to at least jump up to No. 11 if Notre Dame falls out. If Notre Dame does not fall out, Vanderbilt would need to likely jump to No. 10 in the bracket.

Which begs the question: who should Vanderbilt fans want to lose in the case that a 10-2 record alone would not be alone?

The first and easiest answer is Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are 6-2, but since it is an independent it does not play a conference championship game. The advantage Notre Dame has with that is there is no way to suffer a third loss after the regular season ends. But the curse of not having a conference title game is that if Notre Dame loses one more game, the Irish are out of a playoff conversation.

The next team Vanderbilt fans should want to see lose is Texas. The Longhorns have the head-to-head advantage over Vanderbilt, and the committee seems to be honoring head-to-head wins throughout the rankings.

But Texas still has to play at No. 5 Georgia and home against No. 3 Texas A&M, two games that are easily losable. If Texas loses one of those two, it would certainly help the Commodores. But to be most secure about their position, it would be better if Texas lost to both Georgia and Texas A&M.

Next, Vanderbilt should want the ACC to just get one team in. In the initial rankings, there is only one ACC team in the bracket, which is No. 14 Virginia. But the Committee also has Louisville ranked ahead of Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech one spot behind the ‘Dores. Avoiding a situation where it could be a 10-2 Vanderbilt against possibly a 11-2 ACC runner-up for the final spot would be ideal.

Of course, Vanderbilt has to win out in order for the playoff conversation to matter, and it starts with a game against Auburn this weekend. Vanderbilt and Auburn kickoff at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday on SEC Network.

Today’s Commodores Schedule

Vanderbilt men’s tennis at the ATP 50 Challenger, Day 4.

Vanderbilt soccer vs. No. 3-seed Georgia, semifinal round of SEC Tournament.

Vanderbilt women’s tennis at ITA Sectional CHampionships, Day 1.

Vanderbilt women’s tennis at ITA Conference Masters Championships, Day 1.

Yesterday’s Commodores Results Today

There were no games scheduled

Did You Notice?

In ESPN’s latest bowl projections, one writer has Vanderbilt in the Gator Bowl against Louisville on Dec. 27. The other writer has Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Illinois on Dec. 31. If Vanderbilt ends up in a bowl game rather than the playoffs, it would be a safe guess that Vanderbilt will end up in a bowl somewhere in the state of Florida.

Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Baseball Season Opener

99 days

Commodores Quote of The Day

[On growing a mustache for ‘Movember’ to raise money for charity] "I forgot about it, I really did, and then I looked in the mirror and said 'Dang it, I forgot you were there,' " Cutler said. "A lot of the teammates did it too, so I'm not a lone soldier in the locker room. We've got some other guys who look as ridiculous as me, so it's all fine."
Jay Cutler