Like different coaches of 10-win groups pounding the desk to achieve the School Soccer Playoff this season, Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea is flabbergasted as to why the 14th-ranked Commodores are on the surface wanting in coming into Tuesday evening’s penultimate rankings.
Lea feels Vanderbilt has performed sufficient to make the sphere and believes there is a “bias” towards the Commodores.
“I do not know a world that exists the place this workforce would not belong in that discipline,” Lea stated Monday on SEC Community. “I am studying proper now about all the issues about how we decide who’s in, who’s out. I am very considering combating towards any notion. I feel there is a bias towards Vanderbilt. I feel we have been ignored earlier within the season and we weren’t given an opportunity. It took us profitable our manner into the dialog. All we have performed is line them up and knock them down.”
Bowl projections: Miami shines as bubble workforce in focus, Texas joins School Soccer Playoff dialogue
Brad Crawford
When the School Soccer Playoff expanded to 12 groups forward of the 2024 season, most assumed 10 wins could be the magic quantity inside the SEC based mostly on schedule toughness, particularly after the “file power” metric was added in August. New metrics even spurred commissioner Greg Sankey and league athletic administrators to maneuver to a nine-game convention schedule for 2026 and past to steadiness competitors and higher place SEC groups within the playoff dialog.
Three SEC groups have been unnoticed of final season’s bracket at 9-3 total because of a 3rd loss, one other knowledge level that strengthened the thought of 10 wins inside the convention being the trump card to different at-large hopefuls.
Sadly, the Commodores are studying a tough lesson to that perceived statute this weekend as 10-win Oklahoma is projected to make the sphere, as is 10-win Alabama, even when the Crimson Tide lose to Georgia within the SEC Championship Sport.
“We have two type of flaws on our schedule — a loss at Alabama and a loss at Texas. Each these video games we have been in it within the fourth quarter. I might like to play these video games once more,” Lea stated. “We’ll play anyplace and in all places. Put the ball down within the parking zone. Anybody they need to put us towards in that playoff, if they need us to play-in, we’ll play in. If they need us to play three video games to get in, we’ll play three video games. I am happy with what this workforce has performed and we deserve an opportunity to win a nationwide championship.”
How preseason bias is hurting Vanderbilt
You see why Lea is arguing notion bias now, proper? That is partly why BYU (11-1) is on the bubble proper now with Utah (10-2) and others. The Commodores have been by no means purported to be on this place when you think about they have been unnoticed of the AP’s Preseason High 25 and did not obtain a single vote over the primary two weeks of the season regardless of convincing wins over Charleston Southern and Virginia Tech.
Vanderbilt barged its manner into the rankings after Week 3 when the Commodores traveled to then Eleventh-ranked South Carolina and ended a 16-game shedding skid towards the Gamecocks in blowout trend. Why was South Carolina, who completed 4-8, ranked close to the highest 10 after failing to cross the attention check towards Virginia Tech and South Carolina State?
Preseason bias was based mostly on what final yr’s workforce completed and the expectation it will occur once more.
AP Ballot voters on Vanderbilt
|
Opponent |
Outcome |
AP Ballot rating earlier than sport |
|
vs. Charleston Southern |
W, 45-3 |
N/A |
|
at Virginia Tech |
W, 44-20 |
N/A |
|
at No. 11 South Carolina |
W, 31-7 |
N/A |
|
vs. Georgia State |
W, 70-21 |
No. 20 |
|
vs. Utah State |
W, 55-35 |
No. 18 |
|
at No. 10 Alabama |
L, 30-14 |
No. 16 |
|
vs. No. 10 LSU |
W, 31-24 |
No. 20 |
|
vs. No. 15 Missouri |
W, 17-10 |
No. 17 |
|
at No. 20 Texas |
L, 34-31 |
No. 10 |
|
vs. Auburn |
W, 45-38 (OT) |
No. 9 |
|
vs. Kentucky |
W, 45-17 |
No. 15 |
|
at No. 19 Tennessee |
W, 45-24 |
No. 12 |
Vanderbilt has barely moved in CFP Rankings
Whereas the playoff choice committee would not use the AP Ballot as a information, it definitely creates narrative over the primary two months of the season previous to their first CFP rankings launch. Tuesday’s up to date high 25 would be the committee’s fifth reveal of the season and we’re anticipating Vanderbilt to land inside the highest 15.
After debuting at No. 16 within the committee’s first ballot in early November at 7-2 total, Diego Pavia and the Commodores have solely moved up two spots since regardless of a group of blowout wins.
The Commodores went 3-2 towards ranked groups this season, however Saturday’s 45-24 victory over Tennessee was the Commodores’ lone win towards a workforce at the moment slotted inside the choice committee’s high 25. And transferring to the metrics dialog, Vanderbilt ranks No. 15 in sport management, Eleventh in power of file and twenty second in power of schedule — comparable marks to others within the at-large dialogue.
Furthermore, the Commodores rank second within the SEC in scoring offense (39.4 factors per sport), No. 3 in whole offense (468.5 yards per sport) and have scored extra factors than any present SEC playoff hopeful over their final three video games (135). Solely two groups at the moment projected to make the playoff — Notre Dame and Indiana — are rated greater in scoring effectivity.
None of those positives matter for Vanderbilt if the choice committee deems the Commodores lower than Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Alabama, BYU and Miami — the 5 groups vying for the final two at-large spots in Sunday’s remaining bracket.
Vanderbilt’s been to date again of the pack — honest or not — within the playoff dialogue that committee chair Hunter Yurachek hasn’t needed to reply a single query about his group’s opinion of the Commodores in current weeks. That is doubtless not going to alter this week regardless of Vanderbilt’s clobbering of Tennessee, an opponent who’s been used prior within the dialog about high quality wins for Georgia, Alabama and Oklahoma.
