BREAKING: Vanderbilt Football selected for Birmingham Bowl, set to play Georgia Tech – The Vanderbilt Hustler

Vanderbilt Football has been selected to play Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 27 in Birmingham, Alabama. This will be the Commodores’ first time playing in the postseason since 2018 when they lost to Baylor by a score of 45-38 in the Academy Sports + Outdoor Texas Bowl. 

Vanderbilt went 6-6 during the 2024 season, starting with wins over Virginia Tech and Alcorn State in Weeks One and Two, respectively. Two losses to Georgia State and Missouri didn’t stop the ‘Dores from achieving their postseason aspirations, as they ripped off three consecutive wins against Alabama, Kentucky and Ball State to reach the precipice of bowl eligibility at 5-2.

The Black and Gold’s momentum stalled after a loss to Texas saw them fall to 5-3, but they went on the road and defeated the Auburn Tigers one week later to earn win number six and officially clinch postseason eligibility. The win also catapulted the Commodores into the No. 24 spot in the AP Poll.

Head coach Clark Lea and his team ended the regular season with a 6-6 record after losses to South Carolina, LSU and Tennessee.

Vanderbilt was selected for the Birmingham bowl  — one of the SEC’s nine bowl tie-ins — after SMU beat Alabama for the final spot in the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide’s exclusion from the CFP left 10 SEC teams out of the field and only nine of the conference’s bowl tie-ins available. This pushed Oklahoma into a non-SEC bowl game.

Vanderbilt Football will look to end its three-game losing streak in its final game against the Yellowjackets on Dec. 27.