Vanderbilt Football learned on Dec. 8 that it would travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to play Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl. Vanderbilt’s head coach, Clark Lea, spoke to the media about the selection and upcoming matchup later that evening. Just a few hours drive from Music City, the state of Alabama is a place where both Lea and his team feel comfortable playing.
“Our team is excited to play this game,” Lea said. “We have a number of [players] and staff members from the state of Alabama, and we are excited to play [close] to our city and our fanbase.”
Vanderbilt’s success this season is deeply tied to the state of Alabama. A statement win over then-No.1 University of Alabama drew national attention to the program, and a road win over Auburn officially gave Vanderbilt its sixth win of the season and made it bowl-eligible. The Commodores have faltered since that Auburn win, though, going 0-3 and finishing the regular season with a 6-6 record. The Birmingham Bowl presents the Commodores with an opportunity to collect another statement win and end the season with a winning record.
“The chance to finish with a winning season is huge,” Lea said. “To play against a Power-Four opponent is [also] a great challenge.”
The energy surrounding the matchup is certainly high for both programs. The Birmingham Bowl will be Lea’s first bowl appearance and Vanderbilt’s first since 2018. However, a win in the postseason has not occurred since 2013, when Vanderbilt defeated NC State 28-24 in the Music City Bowl. The significance of this matchup is not lost upon Lea and his players; in fact, he believes it will make them better equipped to walk away victorious.
“Part of the excitement is the challenge, but we understand the significance of the game, and we embrace the fact that the [result] is historically meaningful to our program,” Lea said. “We are going to talk about that as much as possible over the next couple [of] weeks in preparation.”
At the same time, the bowl game presents a notable opportunity for Georgia Tech, which is looking to win its second straight bowl trophy. The Yellowjackets started their season as one of the hottest teams in the nation when they defeated preseason No. 10 Florida State. Since then, they gained an impressive ranked win against then-No. 4 University of Miami. They also came just short of defeating then-No. 6 and the No. 2 playoff seed Georgia — a game that went into an astounding eight over times just two weeks ago. Georgia Tech is a talented and physical team that played a grueling schedule and cannot be overlooked. Lea knows that.
“The style of play [between Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech] is very similar,” Lea said. “This is going to be a tough, physical team we play against, and that’s how we pride ourselves on playing. We feel like this matchup is one that is competitive and [that] we’re going to have to go and play a really good game [in order to win].”
Playing in December also comes with its own challenges, especially in the current era of transfer portal movement. It is common to see players opt out of playing in bowl games without playoff implications or depart the program before the matchup rolls around. Although left tackle Gunnar Hansen will not be playing in Alabama, Lea doesn’t foresee roster availability being a problem.
“Those [players that will be departing eventually] have said how excited they are to play in this [game] and how excited they are to finish what they started [this season],” Lea said.
The several weeks leading up to the game will certainly be a deciding factor for the Commodores. Lea and Co. will attempt to fill empty positions from those opting out and get some crucial pieces healthy. One of those players is quarterback Diego Pavia.
“I think [Pavia] will be pretty close [to 100%] for the bowl game,” said Lea. “Time will tell, but a lot of his injuries were wear and tear. He will practice and prepare, and I would expect that he is going to be feeling pretty good by the time we go [to Birmingham].”
Lea and his Commodores will be hard at work for the next two weeks before the game. They want to make a statement in Birmingham about the upward trend that has been building since the beginning of the season.
“What I know is that we’ll put a competitive, tough product on the field Dec. 27 that reflects the program that we are and the program that we’re building,” Lea said.
Vanderbilt will look to defeat Georgia Tech and bring home its first bowl game win since 2013 in the Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium. This will be the 39th meeting between the two teams — where Vanderbilt holds a 20-15-3 edge — and the first time the two teams have met in the postseason. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CST on Dec. 27 and can be viewed on ESPN.
