Vanderbilt's expectations remain high after Saturday's loss to the Texas Longhorns

The Vanderbilt Commodores were close to another historic victory on Saturday.

The team came up just short, losing 27-24 to the Texas Longhorns in a hard-fought battle in Nashville. After the game, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea expressed how disappointed he and the rest of the team were after the loss in the SEC showdown.

“I have a disappointed team. I think it's important that, no different than when we celebrate games, we schedule time for it to hurt. Because my team expected to win this game and it's unfortunate that we weren't there, but we can learn a lot from this experience and apply a lot.”

Expecting to win a game against a top-five opponent is easily a new mindset for this program that they haven't recognized in quite some time. After proving to the country that this team is “Not the old Vandy” after upsetting top-ranked Alabama just a few weeks ago, the squad's confidence is higher than it has been in a long time.

The Commodores started strong after intercepting Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on the first drive of the contest. Vanderbilt then took advantage of the turnover and scored with a tough touchdown run from star quarterback Diego Pavia. The Longhorns then took over the rest of the first half.

Texas would score quickly on its next two drives and defeat the Dores in an SEC match for the first time this season. After a 54-yard field goal from Brock Taylor just before the end of the quarter, they went into halftime with an 11-point lead (21-10).

The Commodores tried their best to keep the game close. They outscored the Longhorns 14-6 in the second half. They prevented the fifth-ranked team in the country from scoring a touchdown in the final two quarters of a game they were trying to close out.

“They were the better team tonight and found a way to win. They separated early and I felt like we fought back and showed a little bit of fight in the second half. “It was just too late when we synchronized and ran,” said coach Lea. “I felt like we finally came into our own in the second half and played what I saw as Vanderbilt football; It just took too long.”

The Dores won the turnover battle on Saturday, intercepting Ewers twice and recovering a fumble. However, the defense had trouble stopping the strong Texas offense early on.

Ewers recorded 18 consecutive completions after his first interception, including leading Texas to back-to-back scoring drives. He finished the day with 288 yards through the air and three touchdowns.

Vanderbilt also struggled to contain the Longhorns' running game, as Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue averaged over 4.5 yards per carry and broke runs of over 20 yards on the day, including several key plays that moved the chains.

Despite the team's loss, expectations for the program remain high. Heading into the final four games of the season, they need just one more win to secure their first bowl season since 2018.

Getting one of these wins will be no easy task as the next four games will be against some of the SEC's toughest teams. Next week's game could be the team's best chance to punch its ticket as it will head to Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on the 3-5 Auburn Tigers.