1offseason
Vanderbilt enters 2026 rated No. 11 in 2025 SP+ (+20.3), up 39 spots from 2024.
Vanderbilt leaped 39 spots in SP+ — the gap between the ranking and its 10-3 record is the story Clark Lea has to answer in the SEC this year.
Vanderbilt
2-0Latest
SEC · Clark Lea, year 6 (28-36) · FirstBank Stadium · 40,351 · 35,000 avg in 2026
The nationunrankedAP / Coaches
The model#44 CFB ZeitgeistSP+ #27 (+12.1) · FPI #39
The marketVanderbilt by 3vs NC State · our model 56% Vanderbilt · a number, not a pick
LastW 35–26 vs Delaware · Sat Sep 12 · C.J. Heard 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 8 tackles
Nextvs NC State · Sat Sep 19 · 12:45 pm ET · FirstBank Stadium · Vanderbilt by 3 · series 2-1, last win 2012 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
The read on Vanderbilt depends entirely on who you ask.
Clark Lea's year 6 (2026): 2-0, behind Derek Mason's 3-9 in the same spot.
belief cooled ↓ 0.7vs prior week
Fanbase belief
Mixed
48/100 · 212 mentions
~ our readThe model
#44
CFB Zeitgeist · +3.7
✓ measured1The Pulse on Vanderbilt
48
Δ -0.7 vs last wk
212
mentions this week · conversation velocity
What moved it — last 14 days
—
Awaiting next signal window
"The League called it a scheduling accident; the program calls it a standard."
— Vanderbilt fanbase · recurring line
Fanbase Signals
Cohort Divergence0 pctSpread between sub-fanbase cohorts in the Pulse window.
The Fever Year
Position = mood · width = volume · color = the kind of feeling
Inside the fanbase — all 12 corners
Cr/CFB
GGoogle News
LLocked On
AAnchor Of Gold
CCampus paper
BBluesky
YYouTube
The split, staged
Warmest corner+0.00
Local
most bought-in cohort our read
vs
Coldest corner−0.00
Casuals
most skeptical cohort our read
How Vanderbilt fans actually talk real · top-upvoted
Rr/CFBthe room
Well we'll just see what a backwater Louisiana parrish court has to say about that.
▲ 1.8k ▼open ↗
The crowd’s loudest take by upvotes — read for mood, not as a side. The cohort read is the measured part.
Loudest in the room this week real · by engagement
All 12 corners of the fanbase
skeptical
buying in
Local+0.20
Casuals−0.04
Cohort sentiment is a source-weighted model read — never a quote pinned to a person.
What this fanbase keeps coming back to our read · topic model
Topics are model-labeled from Reddit — a rough signal of what this fanbase is circling right now.
458 mentions · 7 sources · week 2026-02. Counts, sources and the divergence rank are measured (fact). Cohort labels and sentiment are a source-weighted model read (our read) — never a quote attributed to a person.
Belief checklight on evidence
~ our readVanderbilt fans are down on the program, but it's more feel than fact right now.
backed by facts
the mood
✓ counted We read 212 posts from Vanderbilt fans this week.
Press Pulse
16 quotes collected this season
What the beat said, in their own words.
I see growth in Jared [Curtis] and Blaze [Berlowitz] continues to do things that he does well
I’m going to be very transparent with you, in the spring, I think Philo was way ahead because of understanding the offense and Tramell was significantly behind. I think they’ve both taken some steps up. Tramell has probably had more upward mobility, room to grow because he’s learning the offense
I want to say one thing because I’m not an equivocator, but I got to know Jayden when he was at LSU
Five Lenses
What people are saying right now
Radio, beat writers & editorial4 posts
The broader fanbase4 posts
News & campus coverage7 posts
CFB analyst takes3 posts
Bluesky · @redditcfb.com
1w ago
Fanbase health · Vanderbilt
Fanbase health · VanderbiltVanderbilt's fanbase is growing — 63 of 100.
Loud (188 weighted voices in the latest week), winning on the field (10-3 last season, 2-0 so far), and not arguing about much.
63
On the field — 10-3 last season, 2-0 so far78
How loud — 188 weighted voices in the latest week75
How much they argue — not arguing about much35
3 of 3 signals · on-field reading uses last season until 4 games are in · 0–100, bands at 26 / 51 / 76
More in this tab
Rivalry mood
Vanderbilt – Tennessee
Fan mood across the 2025 season, both sides — our read
Hover a week for both sides’ game
Shaded weeks show whose fanbase read warmer, our measure of what fans actually said, not a poll.
Arguments
What fans are saying
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
coaching decisionLimited signal that season
fans think the play-calling hurt the quarterback's performance
The fanbase pretty universally was confused by/hated the decision. In Lea's first few seasons with the program he played two QBs a couple of times and it never went well. This feels like an inability to make a decision on his part.
Based on 2 comments from 2 posters across 2 threads · Sep 6, 2026–Sep 12, 2026 · via CFB
position battleLimited signal that season
fans believe Jared should be the starter
Blaze isn't really the starter. We kind of expected them to play Blaze a bit and then play Jared a bit and there's no way that I can say it without it sounding stupid.
I feel for Blaze man, but it could have been anyone. We want Jared. We won’t be happy until he’s out there
Based on 2 comments from 2 posters across 2 threads · Sep 5, 2026–Sep 6, 2026 · via CFB
player performanceOne fan's take that season
One fan thinks Curtis would elevate the team's offense
Curtis looks legit and our offense is humming whenever he’s out there.
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 12, 2026 · via CFB
player performanceOne fan's take that season
One fan thinks Blaze Berlowitz needs to improve his stats
This settles it. Blaze Berlowitz needs to show whether he can match Curtis’s performance next week. It’s only fair.
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 12, 2026 · via CFB
player roleOne fan's take
One fan believes Vanderbilt's success is heavily dependent on Diego Pavia's presence
Can we really win without Diego Pavia? Pavia's been the engine of everything Vanderbilt's built the last couple years, the run threat, the moxie, the way he elevates guys around him in the biggest moments.
Is this a "the whole thing collapses without him" or has this program actually built something durable enough to survive a Pavia-less stretch?
Based on 2 comments from 1 poster across 1 thread · Jul 29, 2026 · via Vanderbilt
Show all 10
coaching decisionEarly signal — few voices
fans think Clark Lea's impact on team performance is negative
Im sorry but i cant help but doubt clark lea’s coaching ability a bit with how poorly he’s handling the qb room
Based on 2 comments from 2 posters across 2 threads · Sep 12, 2026 · via CFB
position battleLimited signal that season
fans believe the QB battle is hurting the team
All of these points have been scored by our QB2's drives, our QB1 has been the problem. We've had a QB battle going on in the middle of a game...
QB battle is a great problem for Vanderbilt to have - The future is bright on west end ✌️ Anchor ⚓ Down 💪
Based on 3 comments from 2 posters across 3 threads · Aug 21, 2026–Sep 12, 2026 · via CFB, Locked On Vandy
player performanceOne fan's take
One fan believes Curtis elevates teammates' performance
The scoreline looked mediocre but this game honestly gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season(well, more than last game at least). Obviously there’s plenty of stuff that needs to be cleaned up(tackling for example lol) but Curtis looks legit and our offense is humming whenever he’s out there.
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 12, 2026 · via CFB
recruiting resultOne fan's take that season
One fan believes the team is signing top-rated high school prospects
we just picked up a 4 star QB out of Texas and another 4 star Qb out of GA is very high on us as well
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Oct 18, 2025 · via CFB
player performanceOne fan's take that season
One fan argues Vanderbilt's defense improves after halftime
Crazy how absolutely solid Vanderbilt’s second half was after kicking themselves in the foot with penalties in turnovers in the first half.
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 7, 2025 · via CFB
Podcasts
From the booth
The obsession
Rent free · r/cfb fan posts, last season
Vanderbilt fans this offseason 16% of posts bring up another team▲2pp saltier#59 of 70 saltiest · mostly about Tennessee
Who they talk about
Who they talk about
418 posts and articles vs the field · 2026 season
The names this fanbase says more than anyone else does — players, coaches, the places they keep coming back to. Not slang: these are the people carrying the conversation.
Jared Curtis
×407.3 the field
Signature — named ≥10× as often as the rest of college football
Jared Curtis×407.3n=65
Clark Lea×714.9n=50
Blaze Berlowitz×380.2n=45
Diego Pavia×193.3n=26
“Sloppy game, but Curtis looked good in his first “real” game as a QB.”
reddit/CFB · fan post, verbatim
Fans on Jared Curtis (8 examples)
Curtis separate himself, and he clearly needs to be the QB going forward. Team has real
It’s not Lea it’s beck. Lea wanted to start Curtis from day 1 but beck is super insistent on blaze
Lea has to give Curtis the keys after this game. Appreciate all you’ve done for the team Blaze but it’s
Curtis had had that experience.
Curtis had almost 200qbr in that first quarter when he played. Assuming that we stop the
Curtis and hopefully doing enough to not get plundered via the transfer portal after this
Obviously Clark Lea has the final say but reportedly Lea wanted Curtis from d1 but beck has been the one that’s really insistent on starting blaze
Curtis looks legit and our offense is humming whenever he’s out there. Uncharacteristically
Voice profile
Fanbase Voice
836 fan mentions
Doomers
vs the 94 highest-volume fanbases - 2026 season
Vocabulary by era
Season Vocabulary
2026BLAZE
blazecurtisjaredaustinpeayquarterback
blaze took the first snap of the scrimmage
2025LEAGUE
leaguetechalabamavirginiatexasgeorgia
league office protection of CFP hopefuls is all I have because historically Vanderbilt has been boned by SEC refs
Defining terms
Words of the season
how the conversation changed, year to year
2026
blaze×66.0curtis×39.6jared×26.4austin×9.0peay×8.4
2025
league×8.3tech×4.7alabama×4.2virginia×4.6texas×2.6
Fanbase cluster
Your Vocabulary Clustercluster 0with 63 other fanbases
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