Clark Lea Given Harsh Reality About Where Vanderbilt Stands Once Again

After getting beat by Tennessee again, Clark Lea was given a harsh dose of reality about where the Vanderbilt football program still stands.

Nov 30, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea congratulates Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel on the win during the second half at FirstBank Stadium / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Vanderbilt was confident heading into their matchup against Tennessee.

Players vowed things would be different this time around following the beatdowns they had received for the previous five years, and the coaching staff felt like this was their opportunity to get back into the win column by welcoming in a Volunteers team who hasn't been great in conference play.

It looked like that was coming to fruition early on.

The Commodores dominated the opening quarter, jumping out to a quick lead on a kickoff return and forcing some turnovers to help them go up double digits.

But, Tennessee eventually found their footing and scored 29 unanswered points that turned an upset alert into another dominating performance, giving them six straight wins against Vanderbilt that is now the longest streak since the Volunteers won every game from 1983-2004.

It's the unfortunate reality of where this rivalry is right now.

The talent gap is still severe, no matter how much Lea and his staff are trying to close it on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal.

"We got to keep developing our depth and I think that’s a story or a that's a narrative for me that as the season’s gone on it just it feels like we’re having to play closer and closer to a perfect game to to come out on top ... We got to build our depth out. We got to make sure that we have the ability to play over the course of the season, you know, a two deep and at some positions a three deep and not let the play kind of slide off on the field. We've got to continue to enhance and develop our skill," he said after the game.

How Vanderbilt goes about accomplishing that becomes the next question.

They are going to always have a hard time recruiting talent at the level of their fellow SEC opponents because of their stringent academic requirements to get into the school and the lack of overall NIL money flowing through the program comparatively.

That's why it should be remembered this is a long-term build.

College football is a changing landscape at the moment, which should benefit Vanderbilt, but there is still a lot of work to do by Lea and the coaching staff if they are going to turn this program into what they envision.

Saturday was a clear reminder of that.