One Game at a Time, Vanderbilt Football; Column

“We’ve still got everything out in front of us,” Lea said after Saturday’s loss to No. 20 Texas, as he has a few other times this season. 

Vanderbilt’s margin for error is small and if it doesn’t finish the season 3-0 with wins over Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee then all of its talk of a potential national championship will be futile. It’s still got a chance to do what it’s set out to do since it got together in January and added on a transfer class in the summer. 

This group has never been shy about its goals and believed that its Saturday matchup with Texas was so significant because it provided it an opportunity to catapult itself into deeper playoff contention rather than play spoiler to Texas. Now, it’s got its back against the wall and three teams on its schedule hoping to end the parade. 

Vanderbilt’s matchups with Auburn and Kentucky–in all likelihood will be ones in which it’s favored significantly, but it will have to avoid the urge to squeeze things too tightly. If Vanderbilt does that, it could press and fall in a game that it shouldn’t. 

It’s better than Auburn. It’s better than Kentucky. It’s still not good enough just trot out there and beat both of them, though. If it’s learned anything from its past, Vanderbilt won’t be thinking about Tennessee for a few weeks, it will be thinking of whatever is ahead of it each day. That’s how it wins out, not by drawing up some elaborate gameplan this week to trot out at Neyland Stadium a few days after Thanksgiving. 

It’s not been all fun and games for Vanderbilt to this point, but this is different. This is when it really finds out if it’s made of what it thinks it is and believes it’s shown thus far. Time for it to set its jaw. Time for it to prove to itself–and everyone else–that its goals are still attainable. 

As much of a challenge as Auburn is for this Vanderbilt team, its greatest challenge may be resisting the urge to look ahead and playing as with the pressure of everything hinging on these results. If this Vanderbilt team is itself and plays what it calls “Vanderbilt football,” then it’s got a chance. If not, then it may as well get ready for a bowl game. 

"We got every single goal that we want still in front of us," Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia said postgame. "We just got to win out. So keep that in mind. Tomorrow we got practice, so we'll bring the energy and be ready to go."