How Vanderbilt football finally looked like CFP contender, with Tennessee looming

After a 45-17 splattering of Kentucky at FirstBank Stadium on Nov. 22, Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea was asked if his team had run up the score to impress the College Football Playoff committee.

After all, the Commodores (9-2, 5-2 SEC) have had a bit of a "style points" problem of late. They put up their worst offensive performance of the season against Missouri, lost to Texas in a game that wasn't as close as its three-point margin indicated, and they needed overtime to beat an Auburn team that had lost 10-3 to Kentucky the week before.

Vanderbilt have the wins, but not the look of a playoff contender, and that can be deadly when you're a non-name brand school trying to beat out a slew of contenders for one of seven at-large bids.

Had the Commodores continued playing the way they had through most of October and November, the question of getting left out of the playoff at 10-2 could have been moot. The team that went to overtime with Auburn would have little chance of beating Tennessee in Knoxville.

But after a week off, Vanderbilt pulled off the kind of blowout that not only could impress the committee, but also bolstered the team's confidence that it is capable of beating the Vols.

"I don't know what matters and what doesn't (to the committee)," Lea said. "I would say that I want to do everything I can to best position our team to be successful, and there's a balance there between maintaining that aggressive posture and protecting the guys that are going to need to be out there to play for you to get there."

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Like with most of Vanderbilt's wins this season, this one started with Diego Pavia. He set a school record with 484 passing yards and accounted for six total touchdowns. The Commodores put up 604 yards of total offense and had a program single-game record 8.8 yards per play.

Pavia is in the top five in Heisman Trophy odds for a reason. He has put up other eye-popping performances this season. The real difference in this game was Vanderbilt's defense, which allowed 315 total yards to the Wildcats — 213 of which came in garbage time in the fourth quarter. It was the first game the Commodores have played since September that combined a legendary Pavia performance with a strong defensive showing.

"Everyone doing their job and communicating throughout the entire defense," defensive back Martel Hight said. "That was our goal this week."

Hight had two interceptions, and Kolbey Taylor had one. The defense also put up seven tackles for loss and four sacks.

Pavia, for his part, wouldn't give the Vols any more bulletin board material than he already has, simply saying that he was excited to play at Neyland Stadium for the first time. Bu he has talked before about Vanderbilt "running Tennessee," and what better way to put a cherry on top of his Heisman case than a win in Knoxville?

He has put up 1,226 passing yards in three games combined since the calendar turned to November. His presence alone gives the Commodores a chance, but losses to Alabama and Texas showed that to beat a team in the SEC's upper echelon requires more than one player.

And yes, there is a chance that Vanderbilt can beat the Vols and still get left out of the College Football Playoff. It likely needs losses by one of Alabama, Oklahoma or Notre Dame to crack an at-large. Without a win, though, it will all be moot.

"We need to be focused now on finishing at Tennessee, finishing in Knoxville, and that's how we give ourselves the best chance," Lea said. " . . . Obviously, we want to play as long as we can possibly play. And we want to keep our goals within reach. I'm not so sure how much the scoring margin counts or doesn't count. We want to play the best we can play."

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: Vanderbilt, Diego Pavia look like CFP contenders, with Tennessee next