Clark Lea’s 2025 season with Vanderbilt has been a revelation. The fans have never seen a 7-1 record at Nashville since 1941. Their only stumble came against Alabama. Against the Tide, they lost 30-14, but they bounced right back with back-to-back wins against ranked opponents (No.10 LSU and No. 15 Missouri). Leading them is the star QB, Diego Pavia, who is receiving Heisman shout-outs. But Lea recently expressed how it wasn’t good at a certain point.

The 43-year-old’s introspection popped up on Paul Finebaum’s show this week as he had plenty to talk about. The host of the show questioned about the main difference that made Vandy different from the previous few seasons. “I think that it’s a week-by-week focus….But obviously, two years ago we were in a totally different situation, and I think those were that. I think you can’t have the good without the bad,” Lea said on the October 29th edition of the Finebaum show.

Lea took over as Vanderbilt’s head football coach in December 2020, leaving his job as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator to return to his alma mater. But his first couple of years in Nashville were anything but glamorous. The HC inherited a struggling program and posted a 2-10 record in his debut season. “We talk about this all the time as a program. The amount of joy you can feel and experience is equal and opposite to the amount of pain you can experience. And two years ago, a two-and-10 season was so very painful. Because it’s so personal to me, and I want this to go well,” Lea added.

Before Clark Lea took over, the program had gone 0–9 against a full SEC schedule. Not a single win. Even the HC’s first season in charge was brutal. They ended up ranked 113th out of 130 FBS teams. The offense could barely get going, putting up just 15.8 points a game (128th in the nation). And the defense wasn’t much better, giving up 35.8 a game (119th). To top it off, they lost to ETSU, an FCS school, by 20 points. The Commodores’ 2023 season saw the same 2-10 season that again became a nightmare for Clark Lea.

Yet again, they had zero SEC wins and were the only program to have 10 straight losses. Even with some guys coming back, the O-line was still a mess. Vanderbilt’s ground game averaged only 3.3 yards per carry. And the wild part? The most efficient runner (among players with at least 10 carries) was wide receiver Jayden McGowan. In the QB room, AJ Swann, Ken Seals, and Walter Taylor were all taking turns under center, which made it hard to find stability for Clark Lea’s team.

Seals played in ten games and threw 179 passes, Swann got into six and threw 196, and Taylor showed up in five with 15 passes and 30 runs. Swann had some tough luck early on, too. He gave seven interceptions in his first five games. Then there was the defense. Injuries absolutely wrecked the secondary; almost everyone in the two-deep at corner or safety missed time. And the pass defense? Rough.

Alabama A&M, Wake Forest, and Auburn were basically the only teams not to torch them for over 200 yards through the air. Hawaii, Mizzou, and South Carolina all went over 300, and Tennessee went off for 449. By the end of it, ESPN ranked Vanderbilt’s defense 126th out of 132 FBS teams. Lea has learned to put his ego aside and serve the team instead of himself. For instance, the historic win over No. 1 Alabama in 2024 was a breakthrough. That victory propelled the Commodores to their first bowl eligibility since 2013.

The past horrors at Austin ask more this season

Vanderbilt’s week 10 matchup with the Longhorns is bringing in some nightmares from last season. The Commodores’ 27-24 loss against Texas from last year still stings. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt’s standout quarterback, has carried much of the blame on his broad shoulders. After that Texas game in 2024, the 24-year-old admitted to being accountable for any defeat. “Texas, that’s where two of my interceptions came by tip balls, and so I need to get better,” Pavia said.

“I need to find those throwing lanes. We score on one of those, and then it flips. I’ve just got to be better in my craft and what I do. We’re going to Austin this year, so it’ll be a super exciting environment.” Pavia’s honesty and leadership are mirrored in safety Randon Fontenette, who also feels the weight of that heartbreak but is optimistic. But this year, things may take a sharp turn after all. Now, the star QB is a dual-threat dynamo with 15 touchdowns and 1,698 yards passing, plus 458 yards rushing and five scores on the ground. Those interceptions that haunted him last year? He still has five, but his impact outweighs those mistakes tenfold.

Texas, on the other hand, is shaky. Their offensive line has been leaky, complicating their quarterback Arch Manning’s game. With Manning questionable after a concussion, backup Matthew Caldwell is under huge pressure. So for Texas, it’s a do-or-die moment.