Column: Could This Be the Time For This to End, Vanderbilt's Season to Accelerate?

“This is a pretty big game,” Vanderbilt offensive lineman Bryce Henderson said. “It’s what Coach [Klenakis] says, ‘if you’re doing it right, every game is a bigger game than the last.’”

Klenakis’ principles appear to apply to this Vanderbilt team as well as any team. If Vanderbilt finds a way to win on Saturday, its week four matchup with Georgia State has higher stakes. If it wins that game and its week five matchup with Utah State, it will be 5-0 heading into Tuscaloosa and its matchup with Alabama. 

Vanderbilt proved its worth with a 44-20 win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, but if it’s able to go into Williams-Brice Stadium and leave with a win. Well, buckle up. 

"Nobody really talks about the Commodores,” Henderson said. “I think after we go in there and show these guys what’s what, people are gonna open their eyes up a little bit.”

As this Vanderbilt team’s rèsumè is currently constructed, it’s still got everything in front of it and has no reason to believe that it can’t do what it’s set out to. It isn’t naive to the reality that the talk surrounding it is more about how clean its locker room was, how Theo Von and IShowSpeed took over its Wednesday practice at FirstBank Stadium and how well coached it is rather than how it’s a real contender to do things down the stretch. 

A win on Saturday would change that. Go and beat that team in that place and the dialogue around this team changes. Want to be considered a College Football Playoff contender? Go win this weekend. Want to prove that you’re not crazy for the way you spoke at the podium this offseason? Go prove that you aren’t with a win on Saturday.

If Vanderbilt does that, it’s got a chance to have a nearly uncontrollable buzz surrounding it. Thought Vanderbilt’s win over Virginia Tech generated some excitement? This one would likely put it in the top 25 and would give it a chance at hosting College Gameday against LSU. 

For that to happen it’s got to take care of business,  though. It’s got to limit LaNorris Sellers and try to make him one-dimensional. It’s got to find a way to generate some yards on the ground against South Carolina’s stout run game. It’s got to focus on itself when things get tough.

If that’s the case, we could be making big declarations by this time next week. 

“Excited to take this team on the road in the league,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “We're going to have to play really well, so we're challenged with that, but that's also what you signed up for.”