Column: Vanderbilt Football May Not Acknowledge the Season is Over, But It Feels Over – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE — When Vanderbilt football woke up Saturday, it was getting ready for what felt like it should have been a game where the program righted the ship, ending its three-game losing streak and making things interesting down the final stretch of the season. 
The Commodores were matched up against the only other winless team in the SEC. Surely, this would be the week where Vanderbilt proves it is still a team that could potentially reach a bowl game by the end of the season and the three-game losing streak was more so a result of facing three strong teams.
But that somewhat safe assumption fell through after halftime against Arkansas. Vanderbilt’s defense was gashed on the opening drive of the third quarter and five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis threw what was a game-sealing interception with four minutes to go in the game. And just like that, Vanderbilt laid its head on its pillow Saturday night with a 3-4 record and the only team in the SEC to not win a conference game yet this year.
The Commodores may not have been embarrassed on the scoreboard by Arkansas as they did last week, but the toll of the loss was much more painful than a blowout loss to Ole Miss.
In his Tuesday press conference, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea noted that regardless of if his team won or lost to Arkansas, the season was not over. There are still five more games and opportunities to make a late-season rally and maybe earn a 13th game.
“I don’t want to inadvertently affirm in the question the idea that this weekend is the season,” Lea said Tuesday in response to a question asking about the magnitude of the matchup against Arkansas. “Because inevitably one week, one climb gives way to another. We go one climb at a time.”
Technically Lea is right. There are still five games remaining and there is also a nonzero chance the Commodores can string together three wins and earn a spot in a bowl game. Additionally, Lea is going to continue to find as much optimism as he can and continue to express how he feels like his team has a chance to win every game.
But thinking realistically, Vanderbilt’s game against Arkansas did feel like the season in a way. It felt like the Commodores were at a crossroads of staring down the barrel of what may turn out to be a 3-9 season and the opportunity to salvage something good together the final month-and-a-half of the season.
And now that Vanderbilt lost to Arkansas, the Commodores’ season feels like it is just about over.
The product Vanderbilt is putting on the field is the biggest problem right now. Between an offense that has continuously shot itself in the foot with penalties and a defense that has been a disappointment compared to what was expected and thought of the unit in fall camp, Vanderbilt has been nowhere close to executing to its standard.
Right now, Vanderbilt is back at the bottom of the SEC. The Commodores do not look like a team that can win one conference game against a SEC opponent, much less three of the next five.
It is a tough pill to swallow for Vanderbilt, who had aspirations of improving on the 10-3 record it had in 2025 and going on a deep run in the College Football Playoff.
Between the penalties and the turnovers, Vanderbilt has been consistently inconsistent in its operation. And with a four-game losing streak, it feels like it has gotten to a point where maybe this is just who Vanderbilt is this season.
“The inconsistency is not allowing us to win games,” Lea said. “We have to clean our game up and we have to protect the ball. And if we don’t do those things, we’re not going to win games and we can’t be surprised when we don’t do them and we lose.”
For Vanderbilt to turn its season around, it is going to need to execute at a level it has not yet this season. And to make a bowl game, the Commodores are going to need to do that three times.
To finish the season, Vanderbilt has to travel to a top 15 Kentucky team, Mississippi State and a Florida team that just beat Texas while having to play home games against Alabama and Tennessee. That is a rough stretch for the Commodores to close 2026.
Things can happen and improvement can always come into fruition on the field. Lea vowed to begin work on Kentucky starting Sunday morning and will do all he can to pull off an upset next week.
But with where things stand right now, the feeling of the direction of the season after Vanderbilt lost a game it feels like it should have won is palpable. More than that, the palpable feeling could even be described as reality.
Yes, the season is technically not over. Vanderbilt has five more climbs to go. But with the way things are going, Vanderbilt has a very steep climb to reverse the dooming perception surrounding its season outlook.
“Guys, I’m frustrated. Frustrated for our players. They put a lot into this, our coaches too. This has been a really tough stretch, but we’re going to let it hurt here. We’re going to wake up tomorrow, we got to work on Kentucky and hopefully have a great week and be better next Saturday,” Lea said. 
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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