Win in November: Inside Vanderbilt Football's Late-Season Mission
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NASHVILLE—If anyone was unclear as to the intensity of the mission these days, all they have to do is take a glance at the screen in the football lobby of Vanderbilt’s McGugin Center.
The bottom left corner of the screen is filled by a nearly eerie image of a mountaintop with the words “Win in November” spelled out ominously across the image. The top of the mountain likely represents the part of the climb in which this Vanderbilt team currently sits. It’s a situation that Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has anticipated since this group came together for the first time in January, now it’s finally here.
This Vanderbilt team is playing meaningful football in November, that’s not always been the case for this program throughout Lea’s tenure. When it has been the case, it’s always been a matter of bowl eligibility. Now it’s a matter of this group going out and putting the College Football Playoff committee in a difficult spot as it looks to evaluate the Commodores’ rèsumè.
Lea says he still believes–despite the two losses on this team’s rèsumè–that it has everything ahead of it, although he says he’s not worrying about externals in regard to how the Playoff Committee could judge what his team has done. The Vanderbilt head coach knows that he can’t worry about that.
If that’s going to be a discussion the rest of the way, this Vanderbilt team has to finish its season with two-consecutive wins over Kentucky and Tennessee. It’s a task that Lea says is difficult, if he needs any reason to believe that he just has to look at this program’s track record this time of year.
Lea is just 4-14 in November throughout his tenure, it’s 0-4 against Tennessee and it’s often seen seasons limited by its wear and tear getting to Lea’s teams down the stretch of seasons. “We weren’t able to sustain play as the games wore on,” Lea told Vandy on SI over the summer in regard to his 2024 group–which went 1-3 in November and was ultimately subjected to the Birmingham Bowl.
Since his team’s depth faltered and its stars wore down with injury this time last year, the Vanderbilt coach has appeared to make strong November play a puzzle that he had to get to the bottom of. Now it’s here. His team is 1-1 in its two November games this season, but will be defined in part by what it can do through its final two regular season games.
Lea built his team in a way that could allow it to sustain down the stretch for longer than previous ones he’s had, now his theory will be tested. As of now, he’s doubling down on it.
“I do,” Lea said when asked Tuesday if he still feels as if his team is more equipped to win in November than previous ones. “But winning late in the season's hard, winning late in the season in this conference is really hard. And so it's going to take a special effort, a special level of suffering and sacrifice, and again, a detailed performance to have a chance to be that.”
The latter part of Lea’s messaging has been present in his conversations with his team in the Casey Hayward Meeting Room at Vanderbilt’s McGugin Center, if his players weren’t aware of his program’s struggles in the final month of the season prior to their arrival in those meetings then they certainly are now.
This particular Vanderbilt team has defied the program’s past in just about every sense, but its attitude and confidence has to carry over if it’s going to get to the places it wants to go. This particular team has never hid from the reality that they want to go to the College Football Playoff and contend for a national title, Lea has held that over their heads through every step of their journey. Now he’s reminding them what it’s going to take again.
“Man, winning in November is so important because that's when you win your championships, and that's when you get to your postseason play,” Vanderbilt safety Marlen Sewell said. “We didn't get to do that last year, which sent us to the Birmingham Bowl–and I'm not talking bad about the Birmingham Bowl, but we want more than that–so winning in November now is the most important 'cause we're looking to go playoffs, national championship. and that's our goal.”
Time for this group to go out and take care of business in its final stretch.
“Last year, I wasn't here, so I didn't know how they played out in November,” Vanderbilt receiver Tre Richardson said, “But this year it's been a big emphasis to win through November, winning in November should get us to all our goals we want.”
_(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.
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