'Hope' Is Thrown Around A Lot In College Football, But Vanderbilt Has Given Fans Just That, As Texas Arrives

NASHVILLE, TN - There's a lot that can happen for a football program if you find a way to finally push through the barrier that has kept you on the outside for so many years. For Vanderbilt, heading into today's game against Texas, they've given fans hope, and right now, that's the first step to rekindling some of that magic. 

A lot of fans remember the days of Bobby Johnson and James Franklin putting their stamp on the Commodores program, with a group of players that went out every weekend and presented a product that fans had been waiting on for a very long time. 

It might feel like forever since Vandy was relevant in college football, but there are a large group of fans that still remember this school hosting College Gameday in October 2008 against Auburn. Then it was the James Franklin era that saw Vanderbilt finish the 2012 season with a 9-4 record, winning five SEC games and led by running back Zac Stacy and wide receiver Jordan Matthews. 

While there had been some rough years since Franklin left, Vanderbilt was trying to erase the stench of a program known for having more visiting fans at their home games, than actual fans of their own. As many folks inside the building will tell you if asked, the hiring of Clark Lea was a move to bring someone back to Nashville that held this place in high-regard. 

Bringing in one of your own to turn a program around is difficult enough, because of how bad you want to make things right. So the first three years of Clark Lea's tenure on West End was hard pill to swallow, especially for the head coach, who wanted nothing more than to make things right at a school he bled for on the field. 

And it's ok for the fans to have been skeptical of what was to come, given that the last three seasons ended with 2-10, 5-7 and 2–10 records. This left folks wondering if they would ever have that feeling of hope again. 

But then things changed. People involved in the program knew they would need some help in this new era of college sports, and to be honest, they were sick of losing. So, Vanderbilt hit the transfer portal, found guys that brought a little swagger, and could also help immediately, which is one thing that has stood out to opposing coaches.

"They needed a player like Diego (Pavia)," one head coach who has played against Vanderbilt this season told OutKick this week. "A guy that can forget about the previous play, and just moves on to the next with that same aggression. That young man walks into the stadium and thinks he's the best player on the field, no matter who the opponent is. I need more of those guys on my team, so Clark (Lea) and his staff are benefiting from his charisma. When you see him play with that kind of tenacity, it motivates others, and they have a bunch of guys on that roster that play the same way as their quarterback. 

"Looking around the country, you won't see a lot of guys like him, especially a transfer who has only been around for a short period of time."

‘Hope’ Is All Vanderbilt Football Fans Had, Now They Expect To Compete

When Vanderbilt decided to make some changes to how they handled the off-season, and recruiting players from the transfer portal. They put an exclamation point on the roster by also adding Eli Stowers from New Mexico State, who has had three games with over 100 yards receiving. 

As for their leader at quarterback, Diego Pavia got the attention of fans in the SEC after helping lead New Mexico State to the win over Auburn. So, when Vanderbilt had the opportunity to bring him in for one season, there was no way they would pass up the chance to have him play quarterback. 

It also helped that Clark Lea decided to hire Tim Beck, who was the offensive coordinator for NMSU last season. But he wasn't done with adding to his staff via the Aggies, adding Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford Melvin Rice and Garrett Altman, along with former head coach Jerry Kill as an advisor, along with helping the offense. 

By now you've seen the results, but there was a bump in the road in the early portion of 2024. Coming off the win over Virginia Tech to open the season, Vandy lost to Georgia State in a game in which they should've won, but too many mistakes hurt them in Atlanta. From that point on, we have seen a team grow up on a weekly basis. 

We all saw what this team could do when they went on the road and lost to Missouri in double-overtime, which was also a game that they should've won. But that can only get you so far, and folks inside the football building knew they were good enough to compete with anybody, if they just stuck together. 

So when you throw around the word ‘hope’, there weren't many people giving them that when Alabama strolled into town after beating Georgia the previous week. But what transpired on that afternoon, beating up on the Crimson Tide', with the student section storming the field, and the goalposts ending up in downtown Nashville, that was all the ‘hope’ this fan base needed. 

"I'm not saying we're going to beat Texas, but this team has rallied a fan base that has been dying for a season like this again," Thomas from Nashville told me Friday night. "If you look at how Coach Lea has this team playing, how can you not be excited about this? The biggest thing I have to tell myself is to just enjoy every week of the season and not try to look ahead to the future. 

"They're scaring other teams, and when's the last time Vanderbilt has truly done that. No matter what happens against Texas, I'm proud of this group. I'll definitely be at our remaining home games, and hopefully a bowl."

A Different Environment In Nashville On Saturday Against Texas

As Texas takes the field inside First Bank Stadium this afternoon, they’ll do it in front of a sold-out crowd in Nashville. Sure, there will be a good number of Longhorn fans that had already planned to make this trip before losing to Georgia last week. But, there will be more Vanderbilt fans inside the stadium for an SEC home game than we've seen in a very long time. 

Tickets have been hard to come by for students, as they've showed up consistently for Clark Lea and this football team all season. But there will be more of them inside the stadium today, thanks to the school making sure they could accommodate as many as possible, even giving them tickets that are usually sold to the general public. 

Currently, 5-2 this season, the Commodores are once again double-digit underdogs to an opposing SEC team in their own stadium. While Texas is a very good football team, Vanderbilt is still hungry and feeling disrespected once again. I'm not implying the Dores are going to win today, but the feeling inside the locker room, and in the stands are that they will. And if not, they’re going to go down fighting until the final whistle blows. 

That right there is ‘hope’, and it's been restored in Nashville. But if this keeps up, and Vanderbilt wins a few more games this season, the word floating around the tailgates will turn to ‘expect’, and that's all they've been searching for since Clark Lea arrived.