How College Football 27 Simulates Vanderbilt Football’s 2026 Season – Sports Illustrated

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For the third consecutive year, EA has released its annual college football video game with College Football 27. The game series was paused after the making of NCAA14 before restarting the series with College Football 25 two summers ago.
The deluxe edition for the game was released July 6 and the base edition was released to fans July 9.
The 2026 college football season is set to begin a little under two months from now. For Vanderbilt, it is entering a new era of its program. The Commodores no longer have Diego Pavia at quarterback or Eli Stowers at tight end. This fall will no doubt be an interesting one to follow in Nashville as the Commodores look to continue to quiet the doubters.
Before getting to the season, how does College Football 27 think Vanderbilt’s 2026 season will go? Vandy On SI simulated Vanderbilt’s season in dynasty mode to see how the game sees Vanderbilt’s season going.
Other parameters that were set for the simulation was turning off injuries due to unpredictability and simulating the season on varsity difficulty because that is the default.
Also of note is that freshman quarterback Jared Curtis is not listed in the game as of yet. The starting quarterback to begin the season was an automated player that had a 77 overall.
Here is how CFB27 thinks Vanderbilt's season will go.
Listed in the game as FCS Southeast, the game simulated Vanderbilt to beat Austin Peay by a score of 37-16. The Commodores and Governors played tight for the first quarter but Vanderbilt went into halftime with a 21-6 lead and did not look back.
Sedrick Alexander led the team in rushing yards with 99 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Junior Sherrill had 117 yards and a touchdown. CJ Heard led the team in tackles with eight, Miles Capers also got five tackles to his name.
It was maybe a game that would be perhaps a little too close for fans if this score resulted in real life in September, but Vanderbilt beat Delaware 35-21 in the simulation to move to 2-0. The Commodores once again took a 21-6 lead into halftime before going up 35-13 entering the final quarter.
Delaware did score a touchdown and convert on a two-point conversion to make it a two-touchdown game, but Vanderbilt won.
In the game, Alexander had two rushing touchdowns on 46 yards while Old Dominion wide receiver transfer Ja’Cory Thomas had three catches for 78 yards and a touchdown and Sherrill also pitched in with 55 yards and touchdown. Linebacker Bryce Cowan led the defense with eight total tackles, one for a loss.
This is the type of result that could play out in real life, but Vanderbilt beat NC State 31-27 in the simulation. Vanderbilt trailed 14-10 at the half before scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. Vanderbilt outscored the Wolfpack 14-13 in the final quarter to escape with another win.
Alexander once again led the team in rushing with 34 yards and a touchdown, but it was a big game for the receivers. Sherrill had 120 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches. Alabama wide receiver transfer Cole Adams has 88 yards on eight catches. Dontae Carter had nine tackles, six of them solo while Issa Ouattara and Miles Capers had a sack in the game.
In essentially the same fashion this game played out in real life last November, the simulation has Vanderbilt beating Auburn on the road this season 42-40 in triple overtime. Vanderbilt led 24-21 going into halftime and the difference remained three points going into the fourth quarter. 
The Tigers tied it in time for overtime, where the teams each scored a touchdown and matched two-point conversions the first two overtimes. Vanderbilt, though, scored the winning conversion in the third overtime.
Sedrick Alexander and MK Young each had a rushing touchdown, but tight end Cole Spence stole the show with 112 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches. Thomas also had 112 yards and a touchdown, but on four receptions. Sherrill had 75 yards on eight catches. Capers came through in the clutch on defense with 2.0 sacks and Cowan led the team with 11 tackles.
Vanderbilt lost its first game of the season in the simulation to Georgia by a score of 32-17, dropping to 4-1. The Commodores kept it tight in the first half with the Bulldogs, trailing 16-14 going into the locker room. But a 16-3 run in the second half for Georgia handed Vanderbilt a loss.
Alexander did have a nice game with 104 rushing yards and a touchdown, but there was not a ton of offense outside of him. Spence had 70 yards on five catches. Ricardo Jones, Jordan Matthews, Dontae Carter and CJ Heard all had eight or more tackles.
Vanderbilt dropped its second loss in the season simulation to the Ole Miss Rebels 48-30. Vanderbilt and Ole Miss were going back-and-forth until the Rebels scored 14 unanswered in the third quarter to pull away.
Alexander had 28 yards rushing and two touchdowns, but Sherrill had a massive game with 148 yards on 10 catches. Thomas had 74 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. Capers had three sacks in the game and Iowa transfer Brian Allen Jr. had a sack as well.
This would be more of a surprise if this were to happen in real life. Vanderbilt lost to Arkansas 20-7 in a game where Arkansas went up 20-0 at halftime and Vanderbilt did not score until the fourth quarter.
Vanderbilt had 289 yards of total offense in the game. Alexander had 45 rushing yards and a touchdown and Spence had 92 yards on eight catches. Defensively, Cowan, Heard and Allen Jr. all had a sack in the game as Vanderbilt dropped to 4-3.
Vanderbilt got back on track with a win over Kentucky in the season simulation, beating the Wildcats 31-23. The Commodores went into the final quarter with a 24-7 and held on for the win despite Kentucky scoring 16 in the fourth.
Alexander led the team in rushing yet again with 95 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Sherrill led the team in receiving with 90 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Thomas had 77 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. Capers had another sack to his name while Heard and Jones each had six total tackles.
In what could be one of the easier conference games of the season, Vanderbilt lost to Mississippi State in the season simulation 44-31. Vanderbilt went into halftime down 31-17 and could not make a push to draw much close.
Alexander had 95 yards on 13 carries, but Cole Adams had the biggest game of the season with 111 yards and three touchdowns on seven catches. Sherrill had 74 yards on five receptions. Despite the loss, Capers had two sacks and Allen Jr. and Talan Carter each had a sack as well.
Yes, the season simulation has Vandebilt beat Alabama at home for the second consecutive time. This time by a score of 31-28. However, it was an incredible come from behind effort. Alabama jumped out to a 14-0 start and trailed 21-7 at the half. Then, Vanderbilt tied the game up at 21 before Brock Taylor’s leg made the difference on a game-winning 44-yard field goal to win the game.
Alexander had himself another great day on the ground with 103 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Adams had 103 yards on eight catches while Thomas had 72 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. Dontae Carter had right tackles while Talan Carter and Capers each had a sack in the game.
With the win over Alabama in the simulation, Vanderbilt clinched bowl eligibility.
The Commodores made a statement on the road at Florida in the simulation, beating the Gators 34-7. Vanderbilt led 17-7 at halftime before scoring 17 more unanswered in the second half.
Alexander had 84 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Adams had yet another game of 100 or more yards receiving with 110 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. Defensively, Ouattara had 2.5 sacks, Capers had a sack and Boston College transfer Edwin Kolenge had one himself, too.
Vanderbilt capped off its regular season with a win over its in-state rival, beating Tennessee by a score of 37-17. Vanderbilt led 14-7 after two quarters before out-scoring the Volunteers 17-3 in the third quarter. It was a dominating performance to finish the regular season with a 8-4 record.
Alexander had 86 yards and three touchdowns on the ground while MK Young had 46 yards on five carries. Thomas had 82 yards and a touchdown on three catches. Capers had 1.5 more sacks and Allen Jr. had another sack as well. Cowan led the team with 11 tackles in the game.
Vanderbilt entered bowl season No. 24 in the country.
Vanderbilt was matched up with No. 16 Utah in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in the simulation. However, the Commodores lost to the Utes 30-15. Utah jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and Vanderbilt was unable to recover from it.
The notable stats from the game were Thomas having 61 yards and a touchdown on four catches and Capers having two sacks in the game.
The simulation has Vanderbilt finishing this season with a record of 8-5, which would be the program’s third consecutive winning season.
Two Vanderbilt players broke program records during the season simulation. Miles Capers broke the program’s single season sack record with 15.5 sacks. Sedrick Alexander broke the school’s single season rushing touchdown record with 17.
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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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