CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2024 Vanderbilt

7–⁠6 (3–⁠5 Southeastern Conference), coached by Clark Lea.

Schedule and results

Vanderbilt in 2024, game by game: won vs. Virginia Tech 34–27; won vs. Alcorn State 55–0; lost at Georgia State 32–36; lost at No. 7 Missouri 27–30; won vs. No. 1 Alabama 40–35; won at Kentucky 20–13; won vs. Ball State 24–14; lost vs. No. 5 Texas 24–27; won at Auburn 17–7; lost vs. South Carolina 7–28; lost at LSU 17–24; lost vs. No. 7 Tennessee 23–36; won vs. Georgia Tech 35–27+55−21Won 34–27 vs. Virginia Tech+7Virginia TechWon 55–0 vs. Alcorn State+55Alcorn StateLost 32–36 at Georgia State-4Georgia StateLost 27–30 at No. 7 Missouri-3No. 7 MissouriWon 40–35 vs. No. 1 Alabama+5No. 1 AlabamaWon 20–13 at Kentucky+7KentuckyWon 24–14 vs. Ball State+10Ball StateLost 24–27 vs. No. 5 Texas-3No. 5 TexasWon 17–7 at Auburn+10AuburnLost 7–28 vs. South Carolina-21South CarolinaLost 17–24 at LSU-7LSULost 23–36 vs. No. 7 Tennessee-13No. 7 TennesseeWon 35–27 vs. Georgia Tech+8Georgia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsVirginia TechW 34–⁠2734%
Sep 7vsAlcorn StateW 55–⁠073%
Sep 14atGeorgia StateL 32–⁠3635%
Sep 21at7MissouriL 27–⁠3015%
Oct 5vs1AlabamaW 40–⁠3515%
Oct 12atKentuckyW 20–⁠1326%
Oct 19vsBall StateW 24–⁠1470%
Oct 26vs5TexasL 24–⁠2725%
Nov 2atAuburnW 17–⁠743%
Nov 9vsSouth CarolinaL 7–⁠2844%
Nov 23atLSUL 17–⁠2427%
Nov 30vs7TennesseeL 23–⁠3629%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsGeorgia TechBirmingham BowlW 35–⁠2737%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Georgia Tech 35–⁠27 in the Birmingham Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 11th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 54th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 25
  2. Wk 11: 24
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 11th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 24
Points
355–⁠304
Coach
Clark Lea
Elo
1501 +115 this season
SP+ rating
4.9 No. 50 of 134; offense No. 60, defense No. 59, special teams No. 3
SRS
7.4 No. 36 of 134 in FBS
Returning
16% of last season’s EPA, No. 125 of 133
Recruiting class
No. 40 roster talent No. 50 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tim Beck
Defensive coordinator
Steve Gregory
Offense
Pistol
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense49th of 134
  • Defense105th of 134
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted36th of 134
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted102nd of 134
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1441%1.2349th of 134
Defense0.2048%1.20105th of 134
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.17 def		42% off
46% def		—36th off
102nd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.3own 3116% allowed
Defense4.2own 2517% caused

CORE rating -0.9, 70th of 134 (offense 5.5, defense 6.4).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsDiego Pavia QB2,293 yds
Passing touchdownsDiego Pavia QB20 TD
Rushing yardsDiego Pavia QB800 yds
Rushing touchdownsDiego Pavia QB8 TD
Receiving yardsEli Stowers TE638 yds
Receiving touchdownsEli Stowers TE5 TD
TacklesBryan Longwell LB88 tkl
SacksNicholas Rinaldi LB6 sacks
InterceptionsC.J. Taylor S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Dontae Carter S★★★★No. 166
Witt Edwards ATH★★★★No. 373
Joseph McVay WR★★★No. 496
Johann Cardenas RB★★★No. 508
Jeremy St-Hilaire QB★★★No. 666

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.873
Running backs13.00.888
Receivers33.00.878
Offensive line33.00.855
Defensive line43.00.856
Linebackers13.00.867
Defensive backs43.30.882
Athletes and specialists23.50.889
Whole class203.10.871

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2025

The 2025 draft
Rd 7Julian Ashby LSNew England Patriots

Roster 120

The 2024 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 21

The 2024 portal
Nate Johnson QB★★★★from Utah
Eli Stowers TE★★★from New Mexico State
Randon Fontenette S★★★from TCU
Diego Pavia QB★★★from New Mexico State
Loic Fouonji WR★★★from Texas Tech
Marlon Jones Jr. CB★★★from Eastern Washington
Blaze Berlowitz QB★★★from New Mexico State
Micah Bell CB★★★from Notre Dame
Steven Losoya III OL★★★from Mississippi State
Zaylin Wood DL★★★from Middle Tennessee
Jeremiah Dillon WR★★★from Ole Miss
Khordae Sydnor DE★★★from Purdue

And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 23

London Humphreys WR★★★★to Georgia
Will Sheppard WR★★★★to Colorado
Nate Clifton DL★★★★to USC
A.J. Swann QB★★★to LSU
Jayden McGowan WR★★★to Boston College
Walter Taylor QB★★★to Colorado
Justin Ball TE★★★to Mississippi State
Ken Seals QB★★★to TCU
Leyton Nelson OT★★★to Wisconsin
Ethan Barr LB★★★to Washington
Dante Kelly LB★★★to Southern Miss
Logan Kyle TE★★★to James Madison

And 11 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

2 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2024 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2024 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas7–⁠113–⁠34
Georgia6–⁠211–⁠36
Tennessee6–⁠210–⁠39
Missouri5–⁠310–⁠322
Ole Miss5–⁠310–⁠311
South Carolina5–⁠39–⁠419
Alabama5–⁠39–⁠417
LSU5–⁠39–⁠4
Texas A&M5–⁠38–⁠5
Florida4–⁠48–⁠5
Vanderbilt3–⁠57–⁠6
Arkansas3–⁠57–⁠6
Oklahoma2–⁠66–⁠7
Auburn2–⁠65–⁠7
Kentucky1–⁠74–⁠8
Mississippi State0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.