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2026 Vanderbilt

3–⁠4 (0–⁠4 Southeastern Conference), coached by Clark Lea. The season’s Wikipedia article records 3–⁠3, over six games to the seven on file here.

Schedule and results

Vanderbilt in 2026, game by game: won vs. Austin Peay 28–9; won vs. Delaware 35–26; won vs. NC State 35–31; lost at Auburn 15–21; lost at No. 2 Georgia 14–38; lost vs. No. 9 Ole Miss 17–52; lost vs. Arkansas 21–31+19−35Won 28–9 vs. Austin Peay+19Austin PeayWon 35–26 vs. Delaware+9DelawareWon 35–31 vs. NC State+4NC StateLost 15–21 at Auburn-6AuburnLost 14–38 at No. 2 Georgia-24No. 2 GeorgiaLost 17–52 vs. No. 9 Ole Miss-35No. 9 Ole MissLost 21–31 vs. Arkansas-10Arkansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsAustin PeayW 28–⁠986%
Sep 12vsDelawareW 35–⁠2678%
Sep 19vsNC StateW 35–⁠3169%
Sep 26atAuburnL 15–⁠2160%
Oct 3at2GeorgiaL 14–⁠3826%
Oct 10vs9Ole MissL 17–⁠5248%
Oct 17vsArkansasL 21–⁠3175%
Oct 24atKentuckyPreview33%
Nov 7atMississippi StatePreview44%
Nov 14vsAlabamaPreview36%
Nov 21atFloridaPreview39%
Nov 28vsTennesseePreview37%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

Record
3–⁠4
Conference
0–⁠4 16th in Southeastern Conference
AP now
Unranked
Points
165–⁠208
Coach
Clark Lea
Elo
1532 −86 this season
SP+ rating
1.2 No. 65 of 138; offense No. 59, defense No. 82, special teams No. 29
SRS
−3.5 No. 82 of 138 in FBS
Returning
35% of last season’s EPA, No. 78 of 136
Recruiting class
No. 33 roster talent No. 42 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tim Beck
Defensive coordinator
Steve Gregory
Offense
Pistol
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense99th of 138
  • Defense86th of 138
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted112th of 138
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted80th of 138
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0339%1.3299th of 138
Defense0.1544%1.2486th of 138
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.12 def		39% off
43% def		—112th off
80th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense45%9.6 yds17%3.0014%
Defense46%8.0 yds10%3.1012%
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
Offense3.2own 2816% allowed
Defense4.0own 2614% caused

CORE rating -1.5, 72nd of 138 (offense -3.8, defense -2.2).

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 yardsJared Curtis QB1,242 yds
Passing touchdownsJared Curtis QB6 TD
Rushing yardsSedrick Alexander RB270 yds
Rushing touchdownsSedrick Alexander RB5 TD
Receiving yardsJunior Sherrill WR628 yds
Receiving touchdownsJunior Sherrill WR4 TD
TacklesC.J. Heard S53 tkl
SacksC.J. Heard S3 sacks
InterceptionsBryce Cowan LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Jared Curtis QB★★★★★No. 4
Mitchell Smith OT★★★★No. 360
Collin Flanigan CB★★★★No. 365
Chris Tangelo ATH★★★★No. 420
Evan Hampton RB★★★★No. 469

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

The 2026 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.999
Running backs23.50.882
Receivers43.00.880
Offensive line43.30.880
Defensive line43.00.871
Linebackers13.00.876
Defensive backs53.20.876
Athletes and specialists14.00.895
Whole class223.30.883

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.

Roster 117

The 2026 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 51 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 18

The 2026 portal
Brian Allen DE★★★★from Iowa
Ja’Cory Thomas WR★★★★from Old Dominion
Jayvontay Conner TE★★★from East Carolina
Beau Johnson OT★★★from North Dakota State
Micah DeBose OL★★★from Alabama
Ricardo Jones S★★★from Clemson
C.J. Jackson DE★★★from LSU
Cobey Sellers CB★★★from Texas A&M
Cole Adams WR★★★from Alabama
Lyndon Cooper OL★★★from Pittsburgh
Michael Diatta DL★★★from Oklahoma State
Edwin Kolenge DE★★★from Boston College

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 20

Tre Richardson WR★★★★to Louisville
Linus Zunk DE★★★to Washington State
Randon Fontenette S★★★to Colorado
Trudell Berry CB★★★to Oklahoma State
A.J. Newberry RB★★★to Oregon State
Boski Barrett WR★★★to Arkansas State
Jeremy St-Hilaire QB★★★to Arkansas State
Terry Nwabuisi-Ezeala DL★★★to Marshall
Witt Edwards TE★★★to Missouri State
Cooper Starks OL★★★to South Dakota State
Misael Sandoval OT★★★to Ball State
Drew Dickey QB★★★to Arkansas State

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Kentucky4–⁠16–⁠1
Georgia4–⁠16–⁠1
Tennessee3–⁠16–⁠1
Ole Miss3–⁠15–⁠1
Florida3–⁠25–⁠2
Alabama3–⁠25–⁠2
LSU2–⁠25–⁠2
Missouri2–⁠25–⁠2
Mississippi State2–⁠24–⁠2
Auburn2–⁠24–⁠2
Texas1–⁠24–⁠2
Oklahoma1–⁠23–⁠3
Texas A&M1–⁠34–⁠3
South Carolina1–⁠33–⁠3
Arkansas1–⁠33–⁠4
Vanderbilt0–⁠43–⁠4

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