Vanderbilt put together one of the best seasons in program history this year, going 10–2 with a 6–2 mark in the SEC. It likely won’t be enough to get them into the College Football Playoff.
It isn’t for a lack of trying.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that the Commodores explored the possibility of playing a 13th game in hopes that it would give the CFP selection committee another data point to consider and get the team over the top for the 12-team field. “There was interest from the team, university officials, the athletic department and coaching staff,” he said on X.
Unfortunately, fans will likely have to settle for a bowl game to see Diego Pavia suit up for Vandy one last time (assuming he doesn’t opt out).
“Ultimately, the operational and legislative requirements along with last-minute scheduling constraints could not support the game,” Thamel reports.
Commodores coach Clark Lea addressed the idea Wednesday, saying he told his players to have their “bags packed” in case they were permitted to play another game. Unfortunately, that idea has been shot down.
In a statement to ’s Trey Wallace, Vanderbilt explained its attempt to book a 13th game:
“We explored the 13th-game option for one reason: this team has earned the chance to keep fighting. Coach Lea has said he’ll play anytime, anywhere, and our guys would have stepped on the field with a phone call’s notice. The logistics and legislative constraints didn’t make it possible, but nothing changes the truth—a 10–2 Vanderbilt team forged in the nation’s toughest conference, finishing its best football in November, deserves a chance to compete for the championship.”
Can Vanderbilt still make the College Football Playoff? A look at the current CFP picture:
Vanderbilt held at No. 14 in the latest CFP rankings, despite what felt like a statement win in Rivalry Week, 45–24 at No. 19 Tennessee. It wasn’t enough to pass No. 11 BYU (which beat UCF 41–21) or No. 12 Miami (which blew out a ranked Pitt team) and No. 13 Texas jumped Vandy after beating Texas A&M, which was No. 3 last week. The Longhorns scored a head-to-head win over Vanderbilt, which gave them the tiebreaker in that spot, something that the committee recognizes on occasion.
Of that group just outside the current playoff picture, the Cougars will be in if they beat Texas Tech in Saturday’s Big 12 championship. The Hurricanes are rooting for a BYU loss, which could put them—finally—in a head-to-head debate with Notre Dame, whom they beat in Week 1. It is unlikely that the Longhorns can find a way to move up further at 9–3. Unfortunately for Pavia & Co., that also means that there isn’t room ahead for Vanderbilt.
Even a weekend with maximum chaos, in which every team that could miss the playoff without a conference title loses, likely isn’t enough to get the Commodores in. The Ohio State-Indiana Big Ten championship matchup doesn’t factor in, as both teams are locks to reach the CFP. No. 3 Georgia beating No. 9 Alabama knock out the Crimson Tide, though they, like Texas, have a head-to-head win over Vanderbilt and likely wouldn’t fall behind the Dores. The selection committee has also been loathe to penalize conference championship losers too much, although we only have a one-year sample of the 12-team playoff to go off of.
A BYU loss to No. 4 Texas Tech would likely eliminate the Cougars, but a win would score the Big 12 two invites. In the ACC, Virginia is in if it wins, and a loss could propel a 12–1 James Madison into the final automatic spot (or an 8–5 Duke or the Mountain West champion could theoretically claim it, depending on which program ranks highest of that group). With just seven at-large spots and eight teams already considered playoff locks, four of whom aren’t competing for a conference title—Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma—there just aren’t enough spots to find a pathway for Vandy to crash the party.
A theoretical exhibition between Vanderbilt and, say, Miami, would have been appointment viewing on what is already a stacked weekend of football, so credit the Commodores for trying to pull all possible levers to get into the CFP. Unfortunately their historic year ran into a bubble stuffed with quality two and three-loss teams. Even as Pavia matriculates out of college, it doesn’t sound like the Vanderbilt program is planning on going anywhere, and further potential CFP expansion, we may see them in national championship contention in the future. It just won’t be in 2025–26.
