Why Clark Lea, Diego Pavia said Vanderbilt is worthy of CFP

KNOXVILLE ― Vanderbilt football has made it clear since the start of the season that it goal is to win a national championship.

Everyone laughed it off at the time, but the Commodores finished better than anyone anticipated, with a 45-24 win over Tennessee (8-4, 4-4 in SEC) on Nov. 29 capping the program's first 10-win season.

But Vanderbilt (10-2, 6-2) might not get the chance to compete for a national championship. The Commodores were ranked No. 14 in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings. Only the top-10 teams will qualify as at-large bids for the playoff, and possibly fewer if BYU steals a bid in the Big 12. Vanderbilt cannot qualify for an automatic bid because it will not qualify for the SEC Championship Game.

"They better not let us in, because we're hot right now," Vanderbilt linebacker/safety Randon Fontenette said. " ... We're probably the hottest team in college football right now, they'd better not let us in."

So far, the only team ranked ahead of the Commodores to lose was Texas A&M, which has 11 wins to the Commodores' 10. Vanderbilt's two losses were to Alabama and Texas, the latter of which finished 9-3 with a win over the Aggies. It remains to be seen if the Longhorns will pass the Commodores in the rankings.

Several Vanderbilt players and coaches made their case for CFP qualification after the win over the Vols:

Why Clark Lea said Vanderbilt should make CFP

"Hopefully everyone that needs to be paying attention was paying attention," Lea said. "I felt like the way this team played to close out the season was worth taking and deserves an opportunity to play for a national championship.

" ... This is a 10-win SEC team that has played in a lot of tough environments on the road. We've got what in my mind is the Heisman front-runner playing quarterback, but this is a story way bigger than one person. It's about a team that plays together, plays with great heart. It's a great story in college football, this is a story that's gained a lot of attention. And I think to do anything other than allow these guys to compete for it all would be an injustice to the work they've done."

Why Diego Pavia said Vanderbilt football should make the College Football Playoff

"We want to play for a national championship, and I feel like we deserve to be in the playoff picture," Pavia said. "You go look at our schedule, obviously, a lot of people feel this way, the SEC is the best strength of schedule. ... We're a 10-2 team in the SEC and I think that speaks volumes and we deserve a spot."

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Vanderbilt football said it deserves CFP spot