Clark Lea reacts to highest Vanderbilt ranking in his tenure

Clark Lea was asked about being ranked No. 20, the highest ranking for the program during his tenure. With the latest AP Poll showing a lot of movement, Vanderbilt has come a long way since two 2-10 seasons in three years at the start of Lea’s era.

But building off a 7-6 season in 2024 that ended with a Birmingham Bowl win, the Commodores are for real, at least through three games, in 2025. Lea wanted to, probably, completely brush off the ranking, but acknowledged the progress made by his football team.

“Doesn’t matter … and again, I don’t want to be that predictable. So let me (rephrase),” Lea said. “I never take for granted progress. I never take for granted the positive energy that’s around us. I don’t bathe in it, you know, I don’t sit there and, you know, whatever, swimming. It feels good to have this program at a point where we feel like, week in, week out, we can go win a game. And it doesn’t always have to be perfect, you know, and that that feels good. 

“I think what we’re focused on here is just where we want this season to go. And so no one talks about at the end of the year, what, what you’re ranked after the first three games. It just doesn’t carry significance. It doesn’t. It’s not a measure for us. In fact, we never talked about that from January through fall camp. It was never like, Hey, I hope we’re ranked after week three, you know? I mean, inevitably, the season challenges you that’s going to happen.” 

Clark Lea keeps focus on present, not rankings

At 3-0, Vanderbilt is ready for Georgia State and Utah State coming up over the next two weeks. That’s when Lea and the program head to Alabama for a much anticipated rematch after last year’s upset. 

But Lea doesn’t want to say this team is a shoe-in for a perfect campaign. That would be disingenuous of the coach.

“So, you know, we’re not going to make it through this unblemished, whatever that adversity looks like. I don’t know what it looks like, you know,” Lea said. “I mean, it could be a really close win where we try every way in the book to lose it. It could be a tough loss at some point, but the season will find a way to challenge you. You know, I think we have to stay focused on the team that we’re becoming. We want to be a better team at the end of the season than we were at the beginning. 

“I think to this point, I’ve been proud with the progress we’ve made. This is another week for us to take another step in that direction, and the season is a marathon. It’s not a sprint. And we can’t hurry up to the finish line right now. We have to really stay methodical in our process and make sure we’re focused again, and intentional and purposeful in the way we’re attacking our work. And so I appreciate the recognition, I appreciate, and I’m grateful for where this program is currently.”