Vanderbilt’s unexpected rise under Clark Lea has taken college football by storm. After their impressive victory over Kalen DeBoer’s team, the Commodores have captured the nation’s attention. Now, despite their recent loss to the Texas Longhorns by a score of 27-24, they displayed great pride. Yes, you read that correctly! The team is receiving praise and admiration for their performance. Additionally, Vandy’s head coach, Clark Lea, is being compared favorably to Steve Sarkisian of Texas, sparking discussions about their teams’ respective positions. Well, what’s all the fuss about?

Today, after the game, elitecollegefootball took its official Instagram account, saying, “Vandy nearly pulls off another massive upset on a Top 5 team, but falls short late in the 4th 😭Where should Texas be ranked? ⬇️” This comment instantly sparked a debate between fans over Clark Lea’s Vanderbilt Commodores getting a definite position in the AP poll rankings after their close game against the Texas Longhorns, taking a dig at Texas rank after the game.

Well, the Texas Longhorns’ struggle was quite visible in the game with their longtime quarterback situation. This time their star quarterback, Quinn Ewers, again had a problem with interceptions and turnovers. But he also tried to put up a decent game against Vandy, throwing for 288 yards with three touchdowns. But again, incertitude gave Vanderbilt an advantage over them, which ended up landing Texas in a close win.

The Texas Longhorns are winning on the field but losing in the court of public opinion. Even fans are having a hard time with their season rankings after the game. They think Vandy should be given a decent spot, which is not a good sign for Steve Sarkisian.

Fans supporting Clark Lea over Steve Sarkisian

No one would have thought that Texas Longhorns quarterback struggle would raise questions about their season rankings. It was a close game, but you can’t ignore the fact that Texas has won 7 games in the tournament, which makes them more than worthy of a top spot in AP poll rankings. But this fan doesn’t seem to agree with the fact, saying, “Vandy is actually legit.” Well, Vanderbilt is really an underdog team with a lot of potential hidden. If they can pull a victory against championship-winning team Alabama, then winning against Texas is also possible. However, this game highlighted their strong presence as fans eagerly awaited to get them back in the rankings. “I know it doesn’t work this way, but Vandy does not deserve to drop out of the top 25 for this, imo,” a fan said.

But it’s a straight fact that Vanderbilt made it really hard for the Longhorns to keep a consistent game. Their offense was on a roll with quarterback Diego Pavia. The guy gave a 7-0 lead to his team over Texas in the first quarter of the game. That’s not the best part. Even after suffering a left knee injury in the second quarter of the game, he returned to play for the team. Just for his efforts, “Don’t drop Vandy outside of the Top 25,” they said.

Not a single fan looked convinced by Texas gameplay as they expressed their desire to get Clark Lea’s Vanderbilt on the point table of AP Poll rankings.“Keep the Dores in the top 25,” an IG user said. Now this has to be one of the unrealistic but hopeful comments a fan made: “F-ck it, give them a playoff spot anyway.” The team is standing on a 5-3 win-loss streak after their recent loss against Texas. This might not put them in the top 4 teams of CFB, but good enough to get them a spot in the AP poll rankings, right? What are your thoughts on it? Do let us know in the comments!