In most seasons, a matchup with Vanderbilt following a loss to Georgia would be viewed as the perfect tonic for a bounce back, but 2024 has changed that perception.
This isn’t the same nerdy Vanderbilt the league’s other teams figuratively bullied and stuffed into the Southeastern Conference lockers in most seasons dating back to, like, forever.
They have come of age under a fiery young coach and have done away with being the league’s resident punching bag. The Commodores are throwing plenty of punches and giving as much as they take.
Shoot, had scrappy quarterback Diego Pavia and the Commodores figured out a way to beat Missouri two weeks ago — they lost 30-27 in double overtime — the Longhorns on Saturday would be facing one of three conference unbeatens in Nashville.
Somehow, it means even more in the SEC in 2024 because the Commodores are a capable football team.
Vandy is ranked in both polls for the first time in more than a decade. The Commodores have Texas’ attention entering Saturday’s game.
“This is a team that’s dangerous and wants to expose teams, and they show that on tape,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe told media members Monday.
Sure, the Bulldogs are, per usual, a national championship contender, evidenced by their 30-15 road win that knocked the Longhorns from the top of the top-25 polls, but Vanderbilt presents a different challenge because it is establishing some success while, at the same, its opponent is expected to run the Commodores out of FirstBank Stadium.
Texas football needs to put the Georgia loss behind them
I picked Texas to go 11-1 before the season and the one loss figured to be against Georgia. Now, thoughts changed after the Horns dominated their first six opponents and the Bulldogs lost to Alabama. Then Georgia remembered it was the most successful program in the conference over the last three seasons, with those two national titles, and delivered its most impressive performance since the 34-3 Week 1 waxing of Clemson.
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But Vanderbilt … there’s something different happening in the Music City.
The Commodores have five wins and we’re still in October.
Better yet, they pulled off the biggest win in program history when they upset college football’s resident kingpin Alabama then followed up with another win over a Kentucky team that came within a 13-12 whisker of beating Georgia.
So, what gives? Is there something in the Nashville water supply that we don’t know about? Why are the Commodores notching Saturday victories in such Easy-Like-Sunday-Morning fashion?
Long considered the door mat of the SEC, the smartest school in the toughest conference has also become one of the coolest feel-good stories in the country. Coach Clark Lea needs only one more win to secure a bowl berth, which would be just its sixth bowl appearance since 1982. And how about some serious bragging rights if they can pull off an upset over the Longhorns, who are an 18½-point favorite?
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How many teams can say they beat Alabama and Texas in the same season? I’m guessing that’s a pretty short list but I do recall the 2019 national champion LSU Tigers topping No. 9 Texas (45-38), No. 3 Alabama (46-41) and even the No. 4 Bulldogs (37-10) en route to a 15-0 record and the program’s fourth claimed national title.
Now, no one is trying to confuse the upstart Commodores with that crew of Bayou Bengals that produced five first-round NFL draft picks, but the first half of the season has taught us that one doesn’t have to have a championship pedigree to knock off a blue blood.
“It’s a great challenge for us,” Lea told reporters Tuesday. “Texas, it’s well-documented their talent. They’re very well-coached. Whatever their ranking, this is one of, if not the best team in the country.”
A loss to Georgia did very little to hurt Texas’ CFP chances aside from the obvious result. The Bulldogs, after all, are a top-five team most seasons.
Conversely, a loss Saturday, even if the Commodores are ranked, would be a disaster considering the Horns still have tough games remaining, especially that big one Nov. 30 in College Station.
Quinn Ewers, Longhorns attempting to get back on track
Texas played one of its worst offensive games in the last two seasons and the Bulldogs have plenty to do it, but the Longhorn contingent has a recent history of bouncing back from defeats.
During this 18-3 run under Sarkisian over the last season-plus, the Horns haven’t lost consecutive games and have shown the ability to bounce back in impressive fashion. Yes, Georgia got their attention, but Vanderbilt’s propensity for upsets got the nation’s attention. The Commodores have lost the ability to sneak up on the opposition.
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The Longhorns will win this game if they show up and play Texas football against a team that’s new to success. However, they will also have to figure out a way to use this first disappointment as fuel for their championship fire.
“We’ve got a bunch of great competitors in our locker room. We’ve got a bunch of great competitors on our staff,” coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. “So we need it. We do need to stay 10 toes down, and we need to get back to work. And we’re a really good football team. We just got to get back to playing our brand, our style of football.”
That starts with quarterback Quinn Ewers, who hasn’t appeared comfortable in the pocket since returning from an oblique strain two games ago. For one reason or another, Ewers didn’t show up for Monday’s interviews, which I believe was his first missed presser as a healthy starter since he became QB1.
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The Horns aren’t worried about any of that just as long as he shows up in fine form in Nashville.
“(I’m) just staying in his ear and letting him know that ‘Hey, we’re here for you,’” said center Jake Majors, who knows Ewers better than anyone in the locker room. “‘We’ve got stuff to fix. Let’s get better this week. Let’s have a good week of practice.’”
Vanderbilt represents assignment football. Pavia deftly controls a run-heavy attack that is designed — to steal a line from our basketball friends — to take the air out of the ball and limit the other offense’s time of possession. The Commodores are the most secure attack in the game, having turned the ball over only twice, the fewest among Power Four teams.
A historic season will become legendary if the Commodores can upset another traditional power.
The Horns understand the stakes at play here. They don’t want to be part of that kind of history.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Golden: Texas football seeks to avoid spot on Vandy’s highlight reel
