There’s never been a moment like this on West End. We entered uncharted territory when Vanderbilt Football downed the Alabama Crimson Tide — previously No. 1 in the nation — for its first win over a top-ranked team. Ever. When quarterback Diego Pavia kneeled down and officially ended the game, it ushered in a new era in Nashville. And from there, the celebrations ensued.
Commodore Nation stormed the field as strangers embraced each other, overcome with emotion about what they had just seen. Their tears of joy soon turned into chaos as those on the field took down the south end zone’s goalpost. Vanderbilt students and fans alike then carried their souvenir nearly three miles from the south gate of FirstBank Stadium to the end of Broadway, where they discarded it into the Cumberland River.
If that isn’t a storybook ending to the greatest upset in the history of Vanderbilt Athletics, I don’t know what is.
But the job’s not finished.
Clark Lea has put his entire being into Vanderbilt since taking over as head coach in 2021. As someone who’s seen Lea interact with players, coaches, fans and the media at press conferences, practices and games, I say one thing with confidence: Nobody wants it more than Lea. He bleeds Black and Gold.
Lea was born and raised in Nashville before playing fullback for the Commodores from 2002-04. He bounced around the country before returning to his alma mater in the winter of 2021, following the lowest point in the history of Vanderbilt Football — a winless, 0-9 season. It took three laborious seasons with a less-than-stellar (9-27, 2-22) record, but the ‘Dores are here. If you don’t believe me, listen to what Vanderbilt’s fearless leader said after Saturday’s game.
“We expected to win that game. That’s not shocking to me,” Lea said.
An arrival
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The energy in McGugin Center, Vanderbilt’s athletic complex, is different this year. Vanderbilt might have lost a lot of talented players, but this is the age-old process of addition by subtraction. If former wide receiver Will Sheppard’s unprovoked jab at Vanderbilt after Colorado’s 48-21 victory over UCF a few weeks ago didn’t make it clear, maybe this weekend did.
“If y’all know where I came from, Vanderbilt, [today was] the most complete win I’ve had in my career,” Sheppard said.
It’s taken a long time, and the work is by no means done, but Lea has built a culture of excellence on West End. He couldn’t have curated that culture without every single member of the team believing in and trusting the process. Whether they started with Lea back in 2021 or joined in along the way, these current Commodores are the perfect group to enact Lea’s vision. It’s also worth noting that Vanderbilt’s current seniors — many of whom are its biggest contributors and most vocal leaders — were members of Lea’s inaugural recruiting class. They’ve been here since ground zero.
Having this group is a blissful reality, but it won’t last. Pavia is in his last year of eligibility, and as much as fans might want him to, there’s no possibility that he dons the Black and Gold again in 2025. Impact players like CJ Taylor, Eli Stowers, Langston Patterson and Gunnar Hansen — just to name a few — will all be eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft this April. That isn’t to say that they will enter their names into the draft’s player pool, but there’s a real possibility that Vanderbilt loses these four, and more.
Then, you look at the coaching staff. Lea, a Commodore for life, isn’t going anywhere — I’m not sure that a bag of straight cash could lure him away from his alma mater, given the hard work he’s put forth thus far and his close relationship with athletic director Candice Storey Lee. Chief offensive consultant Jerry Kill — who stepped down from his head coaching role at New Mexico State due to health concerns — will likely stay in Nashville for now. The other half of his offensive-play calling tandem, offensive coordinator Tim Beck, has been getting all sorts of national attention for the way he called the Alabama game, and rightfully so. What’s to say a team doesn’t approach him with a lucrative head coaching offer?
It’s by no means a guarantee that Beck will leave this offseason, nor is it a guarantee that any of the draft eligible ‘Dores will depart from West End, but the possibility is there. I say none of this to be pessimistic about the future of Vanderbilt Football. In fact, I think that things haven’t been this bright in Nashville for a long, long time.
On the trail
The win over the Crimson Tide can not be viewed as the summit — but rather the foot — of the mountain. There’s still so much left to do.
It starts with recruiting: Vanderbilt had a number of high-profile recruits in FirstBank Stadium for Saturday’s win and ensuing celebrations. I’m no athlete, and I’ve never been recruited, but I don’t think Lea could’ve scripted a better moment to sell high schoolers on the future of Commodore football.
Among those recruits were class of 2025 members Donovan Starr, Stephon Shivers, Martels Carter Jr. and Austin Howard, who had committed to Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi State, respectively.
Following the game, Starr praised Vanderbilt for its incredible win, and Shivers removed all mentions of Georgia from his social media after reopening his commitment that morning. Since then, both Tom Loy and Robbie Weinstein of 247Sports have predicted Shivers to flip to Vanderbilt. The Brentwood, Tennessee, native could be just the tip of the iceberg for Lea.
There’s a real possibility that we look back at last Saturday as the game that changed Vanderbilt Football forever and Pavia agreed with that sentiment after the game.
“Games like this change your life,” Pavia said.
However, that won’t happen if the Commodores get complacent. Lea and his recruiting staff need to do everything in their power to prove to recruits that Saturday was no fluke. More than that, they need to prove it to the entire country.
From my seat in the press box, it was clear that Vanderbilt won against Alabama: Lea, Beck, Kill and Co. completely outsmarted head coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff. The Black and Gold dominated possession (42:08 to 17:52), running 75 plays to Alabama’s 46. Those numbers scream utter domination, and the way that the Commodores’ offensive line controlled the trenches only supports that.
Still, when it comes to Vanderbilt Football, those stats don’t matter as much as they would for any of the other SEC teams. People outside of Vanderbilt’s campus haven’t seen the brotherhood forming in the locker room or the work that players’ are putting in in the weight room. The Commodores aren’t just going to get the nation’s respect. They have to earn it.
No more overconfidence
Lea’s team was in a somewhat similar situation a few weeks ago after dismantling Alcorn State. They went into a Week Three road matchup against Georgia State distracted, something that Lea noticed from the jump when he spoke to the press in September.
“The mentality coming into the building this morning was not where it needed to be,” Lea said. “We’ve got some work to do.”
The team got confident, perhaps rightfully so, after a 2-0 start featuring an incredible upset of Virginia Tech, and they got exposed. The Panthers laid out the perfect trap, winning 36-32 to hand the ‘Dores their first loss of the season.
Vanderbilt will face another blue and white, feline-themed foe on the road this weekend when it travels north to take on Kentucky on Saturday night. The Wildcats are no slouch — they played Georgia really close a month ago and followed it up with a top-10 road victory over Ole Miss in Week Five. They boast a sharp defense and a potent run game, and while they might not be a No. 1 team, the Wildcats are not to be overlooked. Lea knows that.
“[We’re] excited to have an opportunity to play against a really good Kentucky team on the road and build on the progress we’ve made this season,” Lea said. “For us to have a chance this week, we’ve got to [prepare the same way we did against Alabama]. I was pleased with the attention that our team gave Kentucky, and I think the mentality is in the right place, so we need to close the week out.”
Lea isn’t the only one preaching focus and deliberateness to his team. Pavia has been texting teammates throughout the week to let them know that this weekend marks Vanderbilt’s most important game of the season.
This week is different from the days leading up to Georgia State. This time, the team is locked in.
We’ve seen it time and time again this year, most recently against Alabama: If the Black and Gold have the right mentality, they can beat anybody. A win over Kentucky will not just get the Commodores ranked in the AP Poll; it’ll prove to recruits, fans, donors and the nation that Vanderbilt is here to stay.
