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The Vanderbilt Commodores are one of the most improved teams in college football over the past two seasons.
Vanderbilt had not had more than six wins in a season since the 2013 season. That was until head coach Clark Lea led the team to a 7-6 season in 2024. The team was consistently regarded as the worst team in the SEC.
Then the Commodores broke out even more in 2025, going 10-3 and narrowly missing a College Football Playoff berth. That marked the only double-digit-win season in program history.
The big question is whether that's due to the roster and culture Lea has built there, or to having star players like quarterback Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers. For Lea, the hope is that it's the roster and culture. Because if it is, that means these two seasons won't be a blip on the radar, but will be sustainable.
One of the things that could help the team show that last year was not a fluke is the schedule. ESPN's Greg McElroy revealed on "Always College Football" that Vanderbilt has the most favorable schedule in the SEC.
"The most gettable schedule in the SEC lands on a Vanderbilt team that has to answer the single most terrifying question in college football," McElroy said. "Was 10-3 the roster, or was it Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers? Clark Lea is betting on the roster, and the schedule is the perfect place to test that bet."
In the SEC, it's almost impossible to avoid some of the biggest names in the sport; however, Vanderbilt managed to mostly do that. The Commodores do have a road game against the Georgia Bulldogs and home games against the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Ole Miss Rebels. But the team doesn't play the Oklahoma Sooners or the Texas Longhorns.
They also face the Auburn Tigers, Kentucky Wildcats, Arkansas Razorbacks, Florida Gators and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Those were five of the six worst teams in the SEC last season. The only one Vanderbilt avoids is the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The schedule won't guarantee Vanderbilt another breakthrough season, but it does provide a golden opportunity to validate what Lea has built.
If the Commodores can capitalize on a favorable slate and remain in the SEC race throughout the fall, it would strengthen the argument that their recent success extends beyond Pavia and Stowers.
Another winning season would signal that Vanderbilt has established a new standard rather than simply enjoying a one-year surge.
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Jaron Spor has nearly a decade of journalism experience, initially as a news anchor/reporter in Wichita Falls, Texas and then covering the Oklahoma Sooners for USA Today's Sooners Wire. He has written about pro and college sports for Athlon and serves as a host across the Locked On Podcast Network focusing on Mississippi State and the Tampa Bay Bucs.
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