Column: Can Vanderbilt Football Respond to a Loss Like A Contender?

NASHVILLE—This Vanderbilt team already stood up on the podium in Tuscaloosa and took accountability for what went wrong in its 30-14 loss to No. 10 Alabama. It did the things and felt the way you’re supposed to after a loss like that. 

Time to move on. 

It was likely the only time this team will get College Gameday on site at one of its games. It was this core group’s only shot to sweep Alabama. Instead, it was perhaps Diego Pavia’s worst game in a Vanderbilt uniform and a day of missed opportunities that demonstrated what it really takes to beat a team of Alabama’s caliber in Bryant Denny Stadium. 

“We’re the best team in the country, we just didn't show tonight,” Pavia said. We didn't play Vanderbilt football. That's what it comes down to. We're pressure fighters. We didn't show it tonight. But we just gotta get back up and to the drawing board.” 

What happened Saturday doesn’t have to define this Vanderbilt team. It talked all types of trash and didn’t back it up. It’s been ridiculed for that. It wasn’t good enough, but it’s done and it’s over with. It’s not going to change the result.

Vanderbilt doesn’t have to be defined by it, though. It never said it needed to go undefeated to reach all of its goals. Say what you will about its chances, but a loss on Saturday didn’t disqualify it from a national title, SEC Championship or College Football Playoff berth. 

It has a more difficult path than it did prior to Saturday afternoon, but it’s not dead. It shouldn’t act as if it is, either. The assumption regarding this team and its mentality is that it would never declare itself dead, though. 

That appears to be correct. 

“We don’t have any guys pouting,” Vanderbilt pass rusher Khordae Sydnor said. “Jaws are set. We’re looking on to LSU and we know that in the future we’re going to be better, so no pouting. Everybody is ready.”

When it takes the field in Nashville against LSU in two weeks, this Vanderbilt team should be refreshed. It should have energy. It should look like a team that’s been off for a week. Until then it’s got to sit in its hurt, though. 

If Vanderbilt truly believes it’s a College Football Playoff team like it says, it should have plenty of that after what it did on Saturday. It should believe that its 5-for-11 showing on third down, lapses in coverage and two red zone turnovers are unacceptable. 

It appears as if it does. 

“I told the team ‘we don't like the feeling, but we earned the feeling,’” Lea said. “It's just like everything was just a little short of where we needed to be to win a game like that. And we have a good enough team to win a game like that. We did not play well enough.” 

It’s not over for this Vanderbilt team because it wasn’t good enough in Tuscaloosa, but it’s got to be better. Let’s give it the dignity to say each of those things. It’s earned that because of its 5-0 start in which it was dominant. 

Now is when it really gets rolling, though. It’s a fight against complacency. It’s a fight against burnout. Nothing is guaranteed after this bye week. No games off, no bad football with an expected win. 

The honeymoon stage is over for Lea’s group. It’s time to buckle up and grind through all the things that have hampered this program in the past. It’s believed like no other to this point. 

Can it still believe when evidence suggests that believing and proclaiming it may not be a foolproof strategy without backlash? Can it believe through injury? Can it believe through loss?

It seems like it.

"We've got every single goal that we want out in front of us,” Pavia said. That's a national championship. Alabama has a loss. We have a loss. A lot of people in the SEC have a loss. We just gotta win out."

Time to see if it can do it.