It wasn’t pretty, but when the dust settled and Glenn Seabrooks III sang, Vanderbilt Football stood on top on Saturday. Vanderbilt’s games against Alabama and Kentucky were slugfests, and Ball State was no exception.

After entering this weekend as the first team outside of the AP Poll, the Commodores needed a statement win over a hapless Ball State team to crack the top 25. The Commodores bounced the Cardinals 24-14 at FirstBank Stadium despite coming in as 25-point favorites. The win did nothing to push Vanderbilt’s campaign for national recognition, but a win is a win, and the 5-2 Commodores are one step closer to the promised land: bowl season.

While Vanderbilt is a bowling school (women’s bowling, to be specific), the football team has not been bowling since 2018 — when Derek Mason was still the head coach. With its first 4-0 home start since 1982, Clark Lea’s squad is on the cusp of bowl-eligibility. Whether it be a New Year’s Six game or the Idaho Potato Bowl, the Commodore faithful will be forever grateful to this year’s team for righting the ship if they can pick up one more win.

Watching Vanderbilt Football is a rollercoaster; on any given Saturday, the ‘Dores could beat No. 1 Alabama or lose to a Sun Belt bottom-feeder. However, the most thrilling part of a rollercoaster is not the rise or the fall but rather the combination of the two. 

And that’s what makes watching Vanderbilt Football so special.

A touchdown given up by the defense only invites another do-or-die drive by the offense. Unproductive plays on first and second down only open the door for a Diego Pavia masterclass on third down. For 60 minutes of play, spectators are on their feet because as soon as they take a seat, the Commodores give them another reason to stand.

If Vanderbilt won ten games every season, it would make fans afraid of losses rather than optimistic about wins. But a team that experiences the lowest of lows can experience the highest of highs. While the win over Ball State wasn’t necessarily the highest of highs, it’s all part of the fun.

Hardtack

A favorite of historical seafarers, hardtack is a dense cracker made from wheat and water that is notably tough — just like Vanderbilt’s offensive line. The offensive line has been the anchor for Vanderbilt’s offense this season, playing not only exceptionally but consistently.

Vanderbilt’s brick wall has only surrendered 11 sacks through seven games this season, though Pavia’s vision and quick feet deserve some credit, too. Last season, the Commodores allowed 27 sacks in 12 games; this year, they are on track to allow 19 through 12 games, a major improvement. The line never wavered against then-No.1 Alabama and only allowed one sack for three yards against Ball State.

Furthermore, the Commodores have only lost 180 yards on the ground, an incredible feat considering how long they hold possession and how often they run the ball. The aforementioned possession has been talked about exhaustively this season because of how critical it is to the Commodores’ success. However, this ace in the hole is only an option because of how dominant the offensive line has been. Director of football sports performance Robert Stiner’s impact has been praised from preseason to the present by all position groups, but his coaching has no doubt made the offensive line more imposing.

Saturday saw the second most pass attempts by Diego Pavia all season (31), but Vanderbilt still rushed the ball 37 times for 145 yards. The Commodores boast the third most rushing attempts per game in the SEC (41.33) thanks to the offensive line’s physicality and endurance in the run game.

The Commodores held possession for 34:35 against Ball State, and with great time of possession, comes great responsibility. 34 minutes of possession means 34 minutes of grappling and blocking for the linemen, but even against Alabama, when that 34 was a 42, the linemen showed their grit and never relented.

I and many others in the student section at the Alabama game saw one of Vanderbilt’s most fearless puke at the line of scrimmage without breaking stance. It was at that moment I knew Alabama was cooked.

I have previously called the offensive linemen the unsung heroes of Vanderbilt’s offense, and I will scream their exploits from the mountaintop until they earn the same recognition as the rest of the offense.

It’s cake

Remember the trend where people sliced open objects to reveal that it was actually a cake? Well, I’m starting to think Vanderbilt’s defense is a cake — a cake masquerading as a competent defense. Vanderbilt has incredible talents at every position and a great defensive mind at the helm in Lea. But for some reason, Vanderbilt’s defense seems to be the Achilles heel of this team.

Ball State scored seven total points against James Madison and No. 6 Miami — the two teams they’ve played with equal or better records than Vanderbilt (5-2). The Cardinals drew first blood on Saturday with their opening drive and finished the day with 14 points. Fourteen points is not catastrophic, but it certainly doesn’t show growth for a defense that allowed Georgia State to score 36 and storm 75 yards down the field in 59 seconds for a game-winning touchdown.

The first drive of Saturday’s game was reminiscent of that late-game meltdown against Georgia State, as the Cardinals took the ball 75 yards down the field to the endzone, albeit in far more time than 59 seconds.

According to Lea, the core of the issue is focus and energy.

“What I saw in the week was a focused team. I didn’t feel this way against Georgia State,” Lea said. “This week was a good week. Now, did I like the energy that we came out with? No.”

But Vanderbilt’s defense has problems besides focus and energy. Alabama scored 35 points in just 17:52 of possession, cutting through Vanderbilt’s defense like … a cake. It seems that the best defense is a good offense for Vanderbilt because a good defense would not allow Ball State to drive 94 yards down the field for a touchdown.

But there is still icing on the cake for Vanderbilt’s defense (that’s how they disguise the cake). The icing is the depth of incredible talent on the roster. Veteran stars like Langston Patterson, CJ Taylor and De’Rickey Wright have accounted for their fair share of spectacular plays this season, while emerging stars like Nick Rinaldi and Bryan Longwell have professed a bright future for the Commodores.

One of the most prolific offenses in the nation will travel to Nashville next week, the Texas Longhorns. Quinn Ewers and Co. are sure to hit Vanderbilt’s defense hard, and we will finally get to see what it is really made of (probably not cake).

Family dinner

Around here, everybody eats. Spreading the wealth is part of offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s game plan, but it’s also an essential pillar of the locker room.

A calling card for Beck’s offense is its unpredictability — partly thanks to the wide variety of players it involves. While tight end Eli Stowers is by far Pavia’s favorite target, 14 players have caught a pass thus far, including backup quarterback Nate Johnson, who has also tallied three rushing attempts and one passing attempt. This variety was displayed fully against Ball State, as Pavia found eight different receivers.

Pavia connected with Ole Miss transfer Loic Fouonji for an 11-yard reception to pick up a first down on 3rd and 10, his only catch of the night but a critical play to keep a drive alive in the second quarter. Pavia called tight end Cole Spence’s number on the next play for a 13-yard pickup to tee up a 41-yard touchdown pass to Stowers. The Commodores went for two, and Spence converted a pass from Pavia.

Beyond the playbook, Vanderbilt’s leaders have forged a 105-person family in the locker room. After the game, Lea touched upon the chemistry his team has built when asked about their national standing.

“They [the media] don’t actually know the inner workings of who we are,” Lea said. “[They don’t know] the level of belief and passion that we poured into this and the chemistry and connection that we’ve built as a team.”

Pavia sits at the head of the table for family dinner. He dishes out the plates that Beck has prepared while chief consultant Jerry Kill looks on proudly. Pavia has time and time again credited Kill as a father figure who made sure everyone was looked after at New Mexico State. That same energy now emanates from the sidelines at FirstBank stadium.

As for who is bringing home the bacon, that honor goes to Anchor Impact — Vanderbilt’s very own NIL collective. Money never sleeps, and neither does Anchor Impact, apparently. The collective set up an auction for game-used memorabilia from the Alabama game at 10 p.m. CDT the night after the game. The auction generated hundreds of thousands from the sales of items such as 4-inch pieces of the torn-down goalpost (which all sold out by the time I had woken up the next morning). So, while Pavia and Co. eat on the field, Anchor Impact makes sure they eat off of the field, too.

Vanderbilt Football’s overall success has brought newfound national attention to several players on the team. With continued success, these players may begin to feed themselves through NIL deals or even NFL contracts. After the Alabama game, Gunnar Hansen was named SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week, Brock Taylor was crowned Special Teams Co-Player of the Week, Miles Capers won Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week and Pavia won Offensive Player of the Week. Additionally, Hansen won Outland Player of the Week, and Longwell was named the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Defensive Player of the Week. On top of that, Stowers was added to the Biletnikoff Award watch list on Oct. 9. All six of these players are now legitimate NFL prospects after coming into the season under the radar.

If one thing’s for sure this season, there’s enough to go around on West End.

While Texas’ loss to No. 5 Georgia destroyed the chance of College GameDay coming to Nashville, the matchup will still be a great one for the Commodores to prove themselves again. Vanderbilt will lock horns with the Longhorns at 4:15 p.m. CDT on Oct. 26 at FirstBank Stadium.