Vanderbilt’s HC Clark Lea Reaction After the Program’s First-Ever Victory Over a No. 1 AP Team

Clark Lea and the Vanderbilt Commodores went out and made school history by defeating the number one ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at home this Saturday with a final score of 40-35.

Clark Lea expressed his gratitude to his players and staff, but Vanderbilt's head coach also made a bold statement when he told SEC Network after the commodores' victory against the number one ranked Alabama Crimson Tide that "This isn't the finish point, but it's a hell of an arrival."

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Vanderbilt did something unprecedented for the football program: a victory over an AP-ranked top-five team, after going 0-60 versus top-five teams. This has changed, as Vanderbilt defeated not only a top-five-ranked team but also the nation's top-ranked team. This is a significant step forward for the Vanderbilt team, as Clark Lea noted to the SEC Network.

We at Tide100.9 cannot predict the future, but we can tell you the facts, which are that Clark Lea coached an outstanding game against the Crimson Tide this past Saturday, and his guys executed that incredible game plan flawlessly. One of these players was Diego Pavia, a transfer senior quarterback who began his career at New Mexico State last season.

When asked about Diego Pavia in his postgame news conference, Vanderbilt's head coach praised him, saying, "Every time he touches the ball, we have a chance." Pavia was an important part of the offense's success, with the Senior Quarterback throwing for over 250 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for more than 50 yards.

Lea went on to discuss how his team's defense, offense, and special teams all worked together to help the commodores win, with his defense, in particular, coming up big with three takeaways, one of which was a pick six by Commodores Randon Fontennete that resulted in a 29-yard interception returned for a touchdown.

Lea made it clear that "this isn't just an arrival" for the Commodores, but hopefully a sign of things to come, as Vanderbilt did the unthinkable and knocked off the top-ranked Tide, who had beaten the Commandores in 23 straight games prior to today's dominating 40-35 victory.

Clark Lea is guiding Vanderbilt to victory after completing their first major victory of Lea's time with the Commodores, as well as securing the program's first-ever victory over a top-five and number-one team in the program's history. Lea discussed how he is still working toward his objective of making Vanderbilt "the best," which appears to be becoming more realistic for Commodore supporters as the team, staff, and program appear to be aligned.

After this week's victory, Vanderbilt improves to 3-2 and 1-2 in SEC play, with the future looking bright for the team in Nashville as they look to build on this victory as the Commodores travel to Kentucky to face SEC opponent the Wildcats, who defeated the top 10 Ole Miss Rebels on the road last Saturday.

Alabama falls to 5-1 and 2-1 after losing their first game of the season against the Commodores; the Tide will seek to rebound next weekend at home against SEC opponents the South Carolina Gamecocks.

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