Vanderbilt didn’t just beat Missouri but showed the entire CFB world what they are capable of. This victory marks their first seven-game victory since 1941. And with that, even their SEC dominance is uncanny with a 3-1 record. But it wouldn’t have been possible without the right mindset. “We’re not getting where we want to go if we don’t find ways to win games like this tonight,” Clark Lea said. Now, doubling down on his locker room stance, Lea makes it clear that winning is the only acceptable outcome for the team.

This 17-10 victory against Missouri is their second win against ranked opponents, which puts them straight in the race for the playoffs and title run. But one loss could have ruined it all. However, they had a clear goal in their mind, and Clark Lea’s locker room added to it: “The mission is winning, and we talked about this in our meeting before we came over to the stadium today, that, you know, I think sometimes we get in these modes where, you know, I’m so proud of these guys. I have such respect for them, and I’m so grateful, you know, to be their coach and to be with them on the journey, but you know, I wasn’t going to tell them that tonight didn’t matter. You know, this was an important game for us, and we needed to understand that and the reason we do what we do.”

That urge made an instant impact on Vanderbilt’s squad, as every player was in their best form. They held Missouri to just 156 yards of total offense in the first half, which is their lowest this season. After Missouri fumbled the ball late in the fourth quarter, it went straight to CJ Heard, setting up the winning touchdown. That’s when Diego Pavia made a 2-yard run and secured the win for Vandy. During the game, Bryan Longwell made 13 tackles, and Langston Patterson recorded 8. All this ended up limiting the Tigers to just 10 points in the game.

It was Clark Lea’s team’s unshaken mentality and constant grind that pushed their fate despite offensive struggles. The offense committed six penalties for 60 yards. On top of it, even Diego Pavia was not in his best form. He completed 10 of 19 passes for 129 yards, taking 2 sacks and no touchdowns with an interception. With that, he also had 6 rush attempts for 26 yards. Even with all of it, they somehow find their way towards the win.

Even Clark Lea points out the same thing: “This team found a way to win, and I think it’s a great lesson to them that, you know, it can go our way for four quarters, or it can go our way for one quarter at the end, and the point is you step on the field with the attitude and the mindset, and you stay in the present, and good things happen.”  Now, with this win, Nick Saban’s fun banter also made headlines.

Nick Saban warns Vandy about Clark Lea’s move

Nick Saban might have retired from coaching, but he still knows how to stir the pot and make the crowd go crazy. And he pulled something of that sort in Missouri vs. Vanderbilt’s “GameDay” when ESPN returned to Vandy for the first time since 2008. His move? Launching a warning sign for all Vanderbilt’s fans ahead of their matchup. “I don’t want to make anybody mad here, but they better do something to keep Clark Lea here, because he’s going to go someplace,” Saban said.

After Saban’s verdict on Clark Lea, the crowd instantly shifted their focus to him as the comment fired up the crowd, showing how much this turnaround meant to them. Even Pat McAfee hopped in, saying, “Jeez, they were just chanting your name.” Then, later, McAfee also reminded Saban that he once called Vandy an easy place to play in the SEC. But to that, he quickly turned the tables, saying, “Coach Saban is jumping on the Vanderbilt bandwagon!” to which even fans couldn’t help but agree.

Well, fans’ excitement and Nick Saban’s plea make sense, as this is a big moment for a team that was considered the SEC’s worst team a few years back. And now? They are in the top 10 AP poll ranks with a 7-1 record coming off their victory against Missouri. And it’s all because of Clark Lea, who turned a 2-10 program into a national contender. Best part? There’s a high chance that Vanderbilt might even make it to the playoffs this season. So, it will be interesting to see Vanderbilt’s high run after ages.