Vanderbilt Expectations Remain High Following Loss to Texas Longhorns Saturday

The Vanderbilt Commodores came close to another historic win on Saturday. 

The team just fell short as they fell to the Texas Longhorns 27-24 in a hard-fought battle in Nashville. After the game, Vanderbilt’s head coach, Clark Lea, expressed how disappointed he and the rest of the team were after the loss in the SEC showdown. 

“I’ve got a disappointed team. I think it’s important that, no different than when we celebrate games that, we allow for time for this to hurt. Because my team expected to win that game, and to come up short is unfortunate, but there’s a lot for us to learn and a lot that we can apply from this exposure.”

Expecting to win a game against a top-five opponent is easily a new mindset for this program that they have failed to see for quite some time. After proving to the country that this team “This isn’t old Vandy” after upsetting top-ranked Alabama just a few weeks ago, the roster’s confidence is higher than it’s been in a very long time. 

The Commodores started strong after intercepting Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on the first drive of the contest. Vanderbilt then capitalized of the turnover and scored on a gritty touchdown run by star quarterback Diego Pavia. After that, the Longhorns took over the rest of the first half. 

Texas would quickly score on their next two drives, putting the Dores down in an SEC matchup for the first time this season. They would head into halftime with an 11-point lead, 21-10, after a 54-yard field goal by Brock Taylor right before the end of the quarter. 

The Commodores made a valiant effort to keep the game close. In the second half, they outscored the Longhorns 14-6. They prevented the fifth-ranked team in the country from scoring a touchdown in the final two-quarters of a game they were looking to close out. 

“They were a better team tonight, and they found a way to win. They separated early, and I felt we battled back and showed a little fight in the second half. It was just too late by the time we synced up and made a run for it,” said coach Lea. “I felt like in the second half, we finally settled in our identity and played what I considered to be Vanderbilt football; it just took too long.”

The Dores won the turnover battle on Saturday, intercepting Ewers twice and recovering a fumble. However, the defense struggled early to stop the high-powered Texas offense. 

Ewers recorded 18 Consecutive completions following his first interception, including leading Texas to back-to-back scoring drives. He finished the day with 288 yards in the air and three touchdowns. 

Vanderbilt also struggled to contain the Longhorns’ running game, as Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue averaged over 4.5 yards per carry and broke runs over 20 yards on the day, including multiple crucial plays that moved the chains. 

Despite the team’s defeat, the expectations for the program remain high. As they head into the final four games of the season, they will need just one more victory to secure their first bowl season since 2018. 

It won’t be an easy task to pick up one of those wins, as the next four games are against some of the toughest teams in the SEC. Next week’s matchup might be the team’s best chance at punching their ticket as they are set to take the road to Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on the 3-5 Auburn Tigers.