Greg McElroy explains why Vanderbilt has been a top surprise team in 2025

Heading into this weekend’s slate of games, few would have expected that the Alabama vs. Vanderbilt rematch would be as high-stakes as it is. Sure, it was destined to carry some storylines after the Commodores toppled the Tide a year ago.

But to have Vanderbilt unbeaten and Alabama trying to fend off a potential second loss? Few saw that coming.

“Vanderbilt, also another huge surprise,” ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said on the Always College Football podcast. “Not because they’re in a good spot and that they’re competitive, but it’s more how they’ve looked so far.

“They’re one of the most efficient teams in the country on both sides of the ball. Currently sitting there 5-0, big opportunity coming up this weekend to play against Alabama, a team they got last year, to kind of prove that the first five games kind of validates where Vandy currently stands.”

And it’s no mistake that Vanderbilt is 5-0 at this point, either. McElroy pointed out that the team is as efficient as they come.

Clark Lea‘s bunch also has a bona fide leader, the kind most teams would kill for. That can get you places.

“Look, Diego Pavia, their quarterback, we’ll talk about him a little later in the show,” McElroy said. “He’s playing at a really high clip and they appear to be much better in the front seven defensively, and I think they’re going to be pretty good throughout the rest of the way.

“This is not a team that is hoping to get bowl eligible. It’s a team that is hoping to be a problem for everyone in the SEC and they might very well be if they continue on this path.”

Who knows, win this weekend and folks might start talking about Vanderbilt as a potential College Football Playoff team. The ‘Dores would be halfway through the schedule unblemished at that point, with a marquee win to boot.

Of course, this was what Lea had hoped would happen with his program. It wasn’t a guarantee, but he was building toward this.

Vanderbilt overcoming the skepticism

One of the biggest differences in this Vanderbilt squad is simply the level of belief players have. That might start with Lea and Pavia, but it has become infectious.

The 2024 win over Alabama had a lot to do with instilling that level of confidence into the program at large. Lea explained.

“Well, I think you create excitement when you play well. I mean, everybody loves a winner. Everybody gets excited about winning football,” Lea said. “I think people are a little more skeptical of this program, just because there’s been a lack of — there’s been apathy throughout, right? And that’s not inspirational to people to show up or to pay attention.

“But we’ve been really intentional about being all in, kind of heart-forward, bleeding out into the program, establishing connection and relationship. We say relatedness is our edge: caring about one another, caring about what we’re part of. That has sent a ripple out that has both created results, but also created attention.”

The end result? Vanderbilt is one of the most competitive teams in the country.

Capable of beating Alabama for a second straight season. We’ll see. But the ‘Dores are where they want to be now. Or at least on the right path.

“My belief is it was inevitable. Those things just take time,” Lea said. “So I don’t point to any one game a year ago. I just think we had to fight through it a year ago to really discover the rhythm and the confidence. And once we did that, we were able to find some results, which then gave way to some external energy. And that’s the way the world works.”