CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 Vanderbilt

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Clark Lea, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Vanderbilt in 2025, game by game: won vs. Charleston Southern 45–3; won at Virginia Tech 44–20; won at No. 11 South Carolina 31–7; won vs. Georgia State 70–21; won vs. Utah State 55–35; lost at No. 10 Alabama 14–30; won vs. No. 10 LSU 31–24; won vs. No. 15 Missouri 17–10; lost at No. 20 Texas 31–34; won vs. Auburn 45–38; won vs. Kentucky 45–17; won at No. 18 Tennessee 45–24; lost vs. Iowa 27–34+49−16Won 45–3 vs. Charleston Southern+42Charleston Sout…Won 44–20 at Virginia Tech+24Virginia TechWon 31–7 at No. 11 South Carolina+24No. 11 South CarolinaWon 70–21 vs. Georgia State+49Georgia StateWon 55–35 vs. Utah State+20Utah StateLost 14–30 at No. 10 Alabama-16No. 10 AlabamaWon 31–24 vs. No. 10 LSU+7No. 10 LSUWon 17–10 vs. No. 15 Missouri+7No. 15 MissouriLost 31–34 at No. 20 Texas-3No. 20 TexasWon 45–38 vs. Auburn+7AuburnWon 45–17 vs. Kentucky+28KentuckyWon 45–24 at No. 18 Tennessee+21No. 18 TennesseeLost 27–34 vs. Iowa-7Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsCharleston SouthernW 45–⁠390%
Sep 6atVirginia TechW 44–⁠2042%
Sep 13at11South CarolinaW 31–⁠730%
Sep 20vsGeorgia StateW 70–⁠2181%
Sep 27vsUtah StateW 55–⁠3574%
Oct 4at10AlabamaL 14–⁠3037%
Oct 18vs10LSUW 31–⁠2448%
Oct 25vs15MissouriW 17–⁠1051%
Nov 1at20TexasL 31–⁠3432%
Nov 8vsAuburnW 45–⁠3874%
Nov 22vsKentuckyW 45–⁠1772%
Nov 29at18TennesseeW 45–⁠2440%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsIowaReliaQuest BowlL 27–⁠3454%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Iowa 34–⁠27 in the ReliaQuest Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 20
  2. Wk 5: 18
  3. Wk 6: 16
  4. Wk 7: 20
  5. Wk 8: 17
  6. Wk 9: 10
  7. Wk 10: 9
  8. Wk 11: 15
  9. Wk 12: 13
  10. Wk 13: 12
  11. Wk 14: 12
  12. Wk 15: 13
  13. Wk 16: 13
  14. Final: 15

Heisman voteDiego Pavia, second

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardDiego Pavia, QB

John Mackey AwardEli Stowers, TE; also the Campbell Trophy

Consensus All-AmericanEli Stowers, TE

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearClark Lea, coach

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 5th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 9
Points
500–⁠297
Coach
Clark Lea
Elo
1678 +178 this season
SP+ rating
20.3 No. 11 of 136; offense No. 5, defense No. 39, special teams No. 4
SRS
16.0 No. 10 of 136 in FBS
Returning
86% of last season’s EPA, No. 2 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 76 roster talent No. 55 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tim Beck
Defensive coordinator
Steve Gregory
Offense
Pistol
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense1st of 136
  • Defense99th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted1st of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted87th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3550%1.451st of 136
Defense0.1643%1.2899th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.34 off
0.13 def		51% off
42% def		—1st off
87th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense56%8.8 yds13%3.4014%
Defense46%7.8 yds10%2.9019%
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense5.0own 3013% allowed
Defense3.9own 2917% caused

CORE rating 24.3, 7th of 136 (offense 27.3, defense 3.0).

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 QB3,539 yds
Passing touchdownsDiego Pavia QB29 TD
Rushing yardsDiego Pavia QB862 yds
Rushing touchdownsSedrick Alexander RB11 TD
Receiving yardsTre Richardson WR810 yds
Receiving touchdownsJunior Sherrill WR7 TD
TacklesC.J. Heard S71 tkl
SacksMiles Capers DE4.5 sacks
InterceptionsMartel Hight CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Carson Lawrence S★★★★No. 330
Austin Howard LB★★★★No. 401
Davin Chandler S★★★No. 743
Josiah Broxton LB★★★No. 821
Vanzale Hinton CB★★★No. 821

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.865
Running backs13.00.857
Receivers33.00.869
Defensive line23.00.854
Linebackers23.50.885
Defensive backs43.30.880
Athletes and specialists12.00.760
Whole class143.10.863

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 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 2Eli Stowers TEPhiladelphia Eagles

Roster 113

The 2025 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 20

The 2025 portal
Jordan White OL★★★★from Liberty
Bryce Henderson OT★★★from South Dakota
Jaylon Stone DL★★★from Southeast Missouri State
Keanu Koht DE★★★from Alabama
Sterling Porcher OL★★★from Texas Tech
Tre Richardson WR★★★from Washburn
Jordan Matthews CB★★★from Tennessee
Clinton Azubuike OT★★★from Northern Arizona
Isaia Glass OT★★★from Oklahoma State
Mason Nelson DL★★★from Western Michigan
Trent Hudson WR★★★from Mississippi State
Aaron Bryant DL★★★from Texas

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 21

De’Marion Thomas DL★★★to Oklahoma State
Gunnar Hansen OT★★★to Florida State
Johann Cardenas RB★★★to Minnesota
Kamrean Johnson TE★★★to Wake Forest
Josh Raymond OT★★★to Florida State
Nate Johnson ATH★★★to Utah
George Okorie DE★★★to Ball State
Darren Agu DE★★★to New Mexico
Jeffrey Ugochukwu S★★★to Coastal Carolina
Micah Bell WR★★★to Georgia
Devin Lee DL★★★to South Florida
Steven Sannieniola S★★★to Troy

And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

2 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2025 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2025 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ole Miss7–⁠113–⁠23
Georgia7–⁠112–⁠26
Texas A&M7–⁠111–⁠28
Alabama7–⁠111–⁠49
Texas6–⁠210–⁠312
Oklahoma6–⁠210–⁠313
Vanderbilt6–⁠210–⁠315
Missouri4–⁠48–⁠5
Tennessee4–⁠48–⁠5
LSU3–⁠57–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠65–⁠7
Florida2–⁠64–⁠8
Auburn1–⁠75–⁠7
Mississippi State1–⁠75–⁠8
South Carolina1–⁠74–⁠8
Arkansas0–⁠82–⁠10

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