2024 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
The 2024 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores were led by Clark Lea in his fourth year as their head coach.
The team is best known for its game on October 5, 2024, where Vanderbilt beat [2024 Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide football|Crimson Tide football team|No. 1 Alabama] 40–35. They gained their first victory over the Crimson Tide in 40 years, as well as their first ever win over an AP top 5 opponent after going 0–60 all time against them prior to that matchup. Their fans carried the South end zone goalposts 2.9 miles through downtown Nashville and Broadway before dumping them in the Cumberland River across from Nissan Stadium. Fans made it past many road blocks by the [Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville Police Department|Nashville Metropolitan PD], and even took a detour around Bridgestone Arena to avoid police. They were fined $100,000 by the SEC. The following week, Vanderbilt achieved another upset against double digit spread by beating the Kentucky Wildcats for their first win on the road of the season.
On October 20, the Commodores achieved their first AP Top 25 ranking for the first time since the end of the 2013 season, at No. 25.
The Commodores faced their historic rival [2024 2024 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team|Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team|Georgia Tech] in the 2024 Birmingham Bowl. With the win over Georgia Tech, the Commodores won their first bowl game and secured their first winning season since 2013.
Preseason
SEC media poll
The SEC media poll was released on July 19, 2024. The Commodores were predicted to finish 16th in the conference, but also received two first-place votes.| 1 | Georgia | 3330 |
| 2 | Texas | 3041 |
| 3 | Alabama | 2891 |
| 4 | Ole Miss | 2783 |
| 5 | LSU | 2322 |
| 6 | Missouri | 2240 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 2168 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 2022 |
| 9 | Texas A&M | 1684 |
| 10 | Auburn | 1382 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 1371 |
| 12 | Florida | 1146 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 923 |
| 14 | Arkansas | 749 |
| 15 | Mississippi State | 623 |
| 16 | Vanderbilt | 293 |
| First-place votes | - | - |
| 1 | Georgia | 165 |
| 2 | Texas | 27 |
| 3 | Alabama | 12 |
| 4 | Ole Miss | 4 |
| 5 | LSU | 2 |
| 6 | Vanderbilt | 2 |
| 7 | South Carolina | 1 |
Game summaries
Virginia Tech
| Statistics | VT | VAN |
| First downs | 21 | 20 |
| Total yards | 322 | 371 |
| Rushing yards | 75 | 181 |
| Passing yards | 322 | 190 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 25:28 | 34:32 |
Alcorn State
| Statistics | ALCN | VAN |
| First downs | 6 | 18 |
| Total yards | 71 | 342 |
| Rushing yards | 40 | 242 |
| Passing yards | 31 | 100 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 28:57 | 31:03 |
At Georgia State
| Statistics | VAN | GAST |
| First downs | 23 | 25 |
| Total yards | 380 | 426 |
| Rushing yards | 110 | 157 |
| Passing yards | 270 | 269 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 27:13 | 32:47 |
At No. 7 Missouri
| Statistics | VAN | MIZZ |
| First downs | 15 | 22 |
| Total yards | 324 | 442 |
| Rushing yards | 146 | 216 |
| Passing yards | 178 | 226 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 26:54 | 33:06 |
No. 1 Alabama
| Statistics | ALA | VAN |
| First downs | 17 | 26 |
| Total yards | 394 | 418 |
| Rushing yards | 84 | 166 |
| Passing yards | 310 | 252 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 17:52 | 42:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Alabama | Passing | Jalen Milroe | 18/24, 310 yards, TD, INT |
| Alabama | Rushing | Jamarion Miller | 5 rushes, 45 yards, 2 TD |
| Alabama | Receiving | Ryan Williams | 3 receptions, 82 yards, TD |
| Vanderbilt | Passing | Diego Pavia | 16/20, 252 yards, 2 TD |
| Vanderbilt | Rushing | Sedrick Alexander | 21 rushes, 64 yards, 2 TD |
| Vanderbilt | Receiving | Eli Stowers | 6 receptions, 113 yards |
This was Vanderbilt's first win over Alabama since 1984 and its first win against the Crimson Tide in Nashville since 1969. This was also the Commodores first win over a AP Top 5 opponent in program history.
At Kentucky
| Statistics | VAN | UK |
| First downs | 19 | 23 |
| Total yards | 288 | 322 |
| Rushing yards | 145 | 164 |
| Passing yards | 143 | 158 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 34:35 | 25:25 |
Ball State
| Statistics | BALL | VAN |
| First downs | 16 | 21 |
| Total yards | 268 | 420 |
| Rushing yards | 78 | 145 |
| Passing yards | 190 | 275 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 25:25 | 34:35 |
No. 5 Texas
| Statistics | TEX | VAN |
| First downs | 20 | 17 |
| Total yards | 392 | 269 |
| Rushing yards | 104 | 114 |
| Passing yards | 288 | 155 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 31:09 | 28:51 |
At Auburn
| Statistics | VAN | AUB |
| First downs | 12 | 14 |
| Total yards | 227 | 327 |
| Rushing yards | 84 | 88 |
| Passing yards | 143 | 239 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 31:57 | 28:03 |
South Carolina
| Statistics | SCAR | VAN |
| First downs | 25 | 17 |
| Total yards | 452 | 274 |
| Rushing yards | 214 | 108 |
| Passing yards | 238 | 166 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 30:59 | 29:01 |
At LSU
| Statistics | VAN | LSU |
| First downs | 13 | 27 |
| Total yards | 308 | 471 |
| Rushing yards | 122 | 139 |
| Passing yards | 186 | 332 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 25:17 | 34:43 |
No. 8 Tennessee
| Statistics | TENN | VAN |
| First downs | 28 | 15 |
| Total yards | 538 | 212 |
| Rushing yards | 281 | 108 |
| Passing yards | 257 | 104 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 33:35 | 26:25 |