Vanderbilt Made Program History With Upset Win Over Auburn
11/02/2024 03:50 PM
The Vanderbilt Commodores may not be national title or even SEC title contenders, but there's no denying that 2024 has simply been their year.
On Saturday, the Commodores defeated the Auburn Tigers 17-10, bringing their record to 6-3 on the season and securing bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018. But the win itself wasn't quite as impressive as the venue for the win. Vanderbilt defeated Auburn at Jordan–Hare Stadium - a feat they had never before achieved in nine previous meetings there dating all the way back to the 1970s.
Combined with their historic win over Alabama last month and Vanderbilt have now defeated both of the Alabama-based SEC schools in the same season for the first time since 1955. Nick Saban was only four years old at the time.
Vanderbilt gets its first win at Auburn... EVER!
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 2, 2024
'Dores are 6-3! pic.twitter.com/Wsxj8o0QDd
Fans across the country have been applauding Vanderbilt for pulling themselves out of the gutters of college football and back into bowl contention. They're also being praised for dominating the state of Alabama:
"Diego Pavia is the governor of Alabama," one user wrote, referring to Vanderbilt's star quarterback.
"Diego Pavia is the owner of the state of Alabama," wrote another.
"The legend of Diego Pavia and 2024 Vanderbilt lives on," a third declared.
Vanderbilt beats Alabama & Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 2, 2024
Diego Pavia runs the state of Alabama pic.twitter.com/IWvKftOySP
It's hard to understate how terrible Vanderbilt have been, not only recently but throughout their history.
Without going into too much detail, Vanderbilt have had only six winning seasons in the past 50 years, have never won or even contended for an SEC title and have never won more than nine games in a single season.
It takes a truly incredible coach to find any sort of success at a school like Vanderbilt. James Franklin was exactly that for the Commodores for three years and he parlayed a mere 24 wins in three years into 11 seasons at Penn State and counting.
With the work that Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea has done for the program, it's entirely possible that a bigger and better program will come calling for him in a months - if not a few weeks.
What's the ceiling for this Vanderbilt team?
Related: Fans Are Loving Vanderbilt's Epic Upset Win Over No. 1 Alabama
