Team Profile: Vanderbilt Commodores
A look into a CFB program on the rise
College football is back! The most intriguing sport in America returns after its many-month hiatus, and of course, there are brand new storylines to discuss. In the past, this newsletter has focused primarily on Michigan football. However, I’d like to expand my horizons this year and turn The Inflection Point into a broader college football channel. The College Football landscape is so large and intriguing, now more than ever; it felt unfair to dedicate this page to just one team.
With that said, you will see a new type of article this year: Team Profiles. Most weeks, a college football program pulls off a stunning upset, suffers an unexpected defeat, or simply shows the world that they are a noteworthy team.
This week, I’ll focus on Vanderbilt.
In recent years, Vanderbilt’s football program has been mediocre at best. Season after season, they suffered blowout defeats to their far superior SEC rivals. This begs the question - why has Vanderbilt been so lacking in the past? They check many of the boxes of a successful CFB Program: they compete in the most competitive conference in the country, SEC; they offer top notch academics, comparable to schools like Stanford, Duke, and other top universities; and of course, don’t take their location for granted. Nashville is one of the fastest growing cities in America, with great food, nightlife, and a hunger for football. So what went wrong in the past?
One explanation is simply priority. Vanderbilt has always prided themselves on their academic excellence. Year after year, the acceptance rate drops lower and lower, with impressive new students and faculty drawn to the beautiful Nashville campus. In fact, Vanderbilt’s academic prestige may actually be a barrier to their success. The fact is, most high level recruits aren’t looking for a top tier education. Vanderbilt has made the honorable choice to not sacrifice their academic prestige for athletics.
A second explanation is their conference. The SEC, of course, is a great strength for most schools. Their TV revenue is massive and their fan bases are diehard for football. However, for Vanderbilt, it may be a weakness. Being in the SEC forces the Commodores to have consistent matchups with the likes of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, etc. These are tough games to win, even for the best teams in the country. You’d be surprised that in the last 10 years, Vanderbilt has brought in numerous blue chip recruits. Perhaps Vanderbilt is actually better than their record has shown – simply because they face tougher competition than 90% of the country does.
Coming into 2024, Vanderbilt, yet again, was not on anyone’s radar. They hosted the Virginia Tech Hokies for their opening game - a team that many thought had a shot at winning the ACC. The Hokies, led by star QB Kyron Drones, were large favorites over Vandy.
Vanderbilt’s 2024 team looks revitalized. They started by rebuilding their coaching staff. Tim Beck, a former Division II national championship coach, was brought in from New Mexico State. For many years before, he ran the hugely successful Pittsburgh State program: this is where he eventually won that resume-defining championship. Tim Beck is no stranger to turning football programs around. New Mexico State had been in a similar situation to Vanderbilt - they faced several consecutive losing seasons with a limited football reputation. In 2022, however, Beck helped NMSU to a winning season as well as an appearance in a Bowl game - something the Lobos didn’t see often. The next season went similarly well. New Mexico State went 10-5, with yet another Bowl game appearance as well as a conference championship appearance. Now, Beck heads to Nashville. With this hire, the Commodores clearly state their intention to be better.
However, Vanderbilt didn’t stop with Beck. Vandy brought in star QB Diego Pavia - also from NMSU. This was a smart move because their new look offense, instead of starting out with uncertainty, features a deep connection between the QB and offensive coordinator. That’s a key ingredient to success.
Vanderbilt’s season started against Virginia Tech, a team that looked much better on paper. The student section was so packed that they had to stop students from coming in. Vanderbilt came out to an early lead against the Hokies, scoring 17 points. Diego Pavia’s athleticism made the offense unpredictable and hard to defend. Vanderbilt choked their big lead away, echoing their introductory performance from the prior season against UNLV. However, this time, the Commodores stayed in it. The score was tied at 27. At the very end of the game, they orchestrated a great drive to set up a game-winning field goal, which was unfortunately missed. However, in overtime, Pavia took over again. They scored right away and then quickly stifled the Virginia Tech offense.
Vanderbilt’s victory against the Hokies is monumental. This is not the type of game that Vanderbilt has won in the past - there is reason for optimism in Nashville. Diego Pavia and his crew have given the Commodores something to believe in. Let’s see how the rest of the season plays out.
What are the implications here? What happens if Vandy can pull this off? If they do, they’d join Stanford and Duke in the category of football teams with the highest caliber of academics, while also managing to field a competitive football team that can reasonably compete in the SEC. This shift would be huge for the school, and change the Commodore athletic program for years to come.
Photo creds: David Russell