For Vanderbilt Football Against Ole Miss, It's The Battle Against Demoralization – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—-It seems easy, but the task is becoming more and more of a difficult one for Vanderbilt’s public relations staff each week. But, the last two weeks they’ve turned to some of their best options on the podium following Vanderbilt losses.
Perhaps with a team full of returning production, there should be a number of players on Vanderbilt’s roster equipped for the postgame spokesperson role—but a stretch like this even tests that. Vanderbilt has to choose a guy who can handle a tough question, won’t say the stupid thing and has the pulse of the locker room. There’s also an element of not burning out the best talkers on the team and not making the same guys fall on the sword every week. 
The three Vanderbilt players that have spoken after losses have been fairly insightful and honest, but doing what CJ Heard has done and speaking multiple times within a few weeks’ span is a quick way to wear down. But, at some point, that will have to happen for a number of Vanderbilt players if this pace continues. 
There’s only so much to say. There’s only so much optimism you can provide. There’s only so much falling on the sword able to be done. 
Heard, Junior Sherrill and MK Young have been as positive and affirming of Vanderbilt’s long-term hopes as can be in this situation. They haven’t compromised the mission. They’ve continued to harp on the same things that they did in the preseason. They haven’t admitted yet that this may be a Vanderbilt football season more reminiscent of its 2023 season than its 10-2 run in 2025. 
“I feel like we just got closer. We just got closer,” Heard said Saturday. “We always say it's a player’s game so we just took it upon ourselves to meet more as players and show us for us. We just kept playing hard for each other.”
Honestly, Heard may have a point. Vanderbilt does appear to be closer to winning in the SEC than it was a few weeks ago. It’s also insistent that it’s not throwing in the towel and that it plans to be resilient. It appears to mean it, as well. 
At some point, though, it will be hard for this group to say that with its chest if this keeps up. 
Clark Lea has a group that has as much belief as any in the country on his hands, but they need some proof of concept to maintain it throughout a marathon of a season. At some point, Vanderbilt has to make sure this doesn’t turn into a losing streak and has to have one go its way. At some point, pure mental fortitude can’t convince it that it can do things its performance hasn’t indicated it can. 
Vanderbilt knows it’s talented enough to win, but it still hasn’t learned how to. It’s learning that doing so is significantly more difficult than its 10-3 group in 2025 made it look. Now, it looks to avoid learning about losing in a way that its previous team never did. But, easier said than done. 
“Our margin for error is so small and we as a team have not yet learned to play the game in a manner that gives us a chance on that field today,” Lea said. “There are just things that this team needs to do to close that gap in performance, that goes beyond anything we're going to do in adding players to the roster as we go to next season. Our [focus is] growing players within our roster. Our focus right now is just cleaning up the football.”
Lea’s answer wasn’t all that jarring and sounded like many of his postgame monologues over the years, but his declaration from a week prior that special teams mistakes couldn’t happen this year was relatively concerning. That answer from the podium at Auburn was a precursor to what Lea declared Saturday when he said his Vanderbilt team still hadn’t learned how to compete with a team like Georgia—even after it pushed the Bulldogs in the first half. 
For now, Lea and company’s messaging is fine—particularly because it feels genuine. It can only feel that way for so much longer, though. Now, Vanderbilt battles the urge to look ahead and become demoralized and merely politically correct when it addresses the state of its season.
Heard, Lea and Sherrill were upset when they took the floor at Sanford Stadium. That’s a positive sign. The second a Vanderbilt player doesn’t appear to, it will indicate that the fracture has started. But, this Vanderbilt team appears to be as confident as it’s been all season. Bryce Cowan says it won’t take anything special to slow down Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. Ja’Cory Thomas believes Ole Miss’ defense leaves plenty of room for plays to be made. 
Now, this group has to prove it. It has to do enough to avoid the angst that could come with yet another disappointment. 
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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