2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
The 2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by interim head coach Todd Fitch, who replaced Derek Mason after his firing on November 29, 2020. On December 14, 2020, Clark Lea was hired as head coach.
| 2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football | |
|---|---|
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| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Eastern Division | |
| 2020 record | 0–9 (0–9 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Todd Fitch (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Ted Roof (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Vanderbilt Stadium (Capacity: 40,550) |
| 2020 Southeastern Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Florida x | 8 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Georgia | 7 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri | 5 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 4 | – | 6 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 3 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 2 | – | 8 | 2 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Alabama x$# | 10 | – | 0 | 13 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Texas A&M | 8 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 6 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU* | 5 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 4 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 3 | – | 7 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 3 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Alabama 52, Florida 46 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On November 28, in game against Missouri, Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power Five conference game by delivering the opening kickoff for the second half. Fuller, the Commodores' goalkeeper on the school's SEC championship women's soccer team, was added to the football roster after the team's regular kicking specialists had to be quarantined due to COVID-19 protocols.
Previous season
The Commodores finished the 2019 season 3–9, 1–7 in SEC play to finish in last place in the Eastern Division.
Preseason
Award watch lists
Listed in the order that they were released
SEC Media Days
In the preseason media poll, Vanderbilt was predicted to finish in last place in the East Division.[1]
| Media poll (East Division) | ||
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 624 (53) |
| 2 | Georgia | 613 (43) |
| 3 | Tennessee | 434 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 405 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 287 |
| 6 | Missouri | 224 |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | 101 |
Schedule
Vanderbilt had games scheduled against Colorado State, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech and Mercer, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3][4]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 26 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 10 Texas A&M | SECN Alt. | L 12–17 | 24,073 | |
| October 3 | 6:30 p.m. | No. 20 LSU | SECN | L 7–41 | 2,000 | |
| October 10 | 11:00 a.m. | South Carolina |
| SECN | L 7–41 | 1,288 |
| October 31 | 3:00 p.m. | Ole Miss |
| SECN | L 21–54 | 840 |
| November 7 | 2:30 p.m. | at Mississippi State | SECN | L 17–24 | 12,888 | |
| November 14 | 11:00 a.m. | at Kentucky | SECN | L 35–38 | 12,000 | |
| November 21 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 6 Florida |
| ABC | L 17–38 | 1,147 |
| November 28 [a] | 11:00 a.m. | at Missouri | SECN | L 0–41 | 11,053 | |
| December 12 | 3:00 p.m. | Tennessee |
| SECN | L 17–42 | 849 |
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- ^[a] The game between Vanderbilt and Missouri was originally scheduled to take place on October 17. However, due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Vanderbilt program, the game was rescheduled for December 12.[5][6] The SEC postponed Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt to facilitate the rescheduling of the Vanderbilt-Missouri game. The shuffling allows for the opportunity for all 14 SEC teams to play 10 regular-season games.[7][8]
References
- "Preseason SEC media poll, All-SEC Team announced". SECSports.com. Southeastern Conference. September 23, 2020.
- Talty, John. "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- Dellenger, Ross. "Sources: SEC Adopts Conference-Only Schedule With Sept. 26 Start". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- Dellenger, Ross (7 August 2020). "SEC's New Schedule: Winners, Losers and... Mizzou". si.com. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- Vanderbilt at Missouri Football Game Postponed
- "2020 Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). Vanderbilt University Department of Athletics. August 7, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2020/11/23/tennessee-football-vanderbilt-game-postponed-missouri-vandy-vols-game/6401082002/
- https://www.secsports.com/schedule/football/vanderbilt-commodores/_/year/2020