Don't Count Vanderbilt Football Out From Anything; Column

Laugh at Sydnor–and Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander, who said something similar earlier in the season–all you want, but he’s right. The same Vanderbilt program that hadn’t been favored in 51-consecutive SEC games is now the No. 10 team in the country and is favored for the second-straight week, this time against the No. 15 team in the nation. 

It’s rolling in every sense of the word. It feels like a college basketball team that’s captured the moment in March, everyone is waiting on the moment for it to finally look mortal and for the spell it’s seemingly cast on everyone to dissipate. It doesn’t appear to have that coming anytime soon, though. 

There will still be a sect that looks to discredit what this team has done because of the historical data that indicates it’s nothing more than a loveable loser, but the excuses to hold anything over its head are running out. 

It beat South Carolina on the road, it took care of its business decisively against non-power five opponents and it had its moment in the sun on Saturday in an eventual 31-24 win over No. 10 LSU. What it did in front of a split crowd at FirstBank Stadium was part excellent execution, part experienced team playing like one and part magic. Regardless of what it was, it was a statement. 

This Vanderbilt team proved that at a point this can’t only be about LSU’s demise or South Carolina and Virginia Tech being worse off than initially thought. This is about Clark Lea’s team and its relentlessness in the pursuit of its mission coming to fruition with consistent results, so consistent that no celebration appeared to ensue when this group clinched bowl eligibility on Saturday. 

No commemorative t-shirts were present at the post game press conference, no tears of joy were shed, nothing of the sort. This group set its sights higher intentionally and isn’t backing down from what it believes it can accomplish by the time this is all set and done. 

“If we end the season with six wins we’re going to be pissed,” Vanderbilt tight end Cole Spence said. “We're trying to go win a national championship. That's our goal for this year.”

That’s been the expectation the whole way for this Vanderbilt team and program, but it’s got to get to the College Football Playoff first. All of a sudden, the path to that doesn’t look all that intimidating.

Vanderbilt likely has to go 4-1 the rest of the way if it’s going to find itself in the field, but has a 45% chance to find itself in the field, the ESPN playoff predictor says. It’s going to take knocking off four of Missouri, Texas, Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee, but why can’t this Vanderbilt team do it?

Why not this group? Why not this year? Why not right now?

The reasons appear to be dwindling by the day. This doesn’t just have to be about bowl eligibility anymore, this can realistically be about far more.

“I don't want to sound like I'm not excited about the fact that we've secured a postseason bid,” Lea said, “but we're really interested in taking this as far as we can.”