NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Texas Longhorns and Vanderbilt Commodores finally are playing each other in football for the first time in nearly a century.
The stakes have never been higher.
The No. 5 Longhorns (6-1, 2-1 SEC) visit Music City on Saturday trying to avoid consecutive losses in their new league. They come in tied with No. 25 Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1) in the SEC standings and needing a win to keep pace in the chase for a berth in the league title game and the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Texas, which reached the national semifinals last season, is coming off a 30-15 loss to Georgia that knocked them out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25.
"It really feels like from here on out, we're kind of in the SEC championship game," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "Every game matters, and we have to put ourselves in Atlanta."
Texas safety Michael Taaffe said the Longhorns remain confident with everything they want still in front of them.
"If we were worried about that, then we would be taking our focus off of Vanderbilt and they deserve our focus," Taaffe said.
Vanderbilt certainly does. The program best known as the SEC's perennial cellar dweller also can see a spot in Atlanta. Coach Clark Lea wants his Commodores to embrace what's possible thanks to that upset of then-No. 1 Alabama, which marked Vanderbilt's first win in 61 games against a top-five team.
Texas would be another big-time takedown for Vanderbilt.
"We're going to fight together to to take this as far as we can," Lea said.
Quarterback conundrum
Sarkisian insists there no quarterback controversy, but he clearly has a conundrum. Questions about starter Quinn Ewers' nagging abdomen strain, poor play the last two games and when to go to Arch Manning hang over the offense.
Ewers was briefly benched in last week's loss to Georgia. Manning only got two offensive series, but has two previous wins as a starter, including the SEC opener against Mississippi State. He has nine touchdown passes this season. How quickly could Sarkisian pull Ewers if he struggles again?
Slow starts
The Longhorns have been slow out of the gate lately. Texas has scored just one touchdown in the first quarter over the last three games and was shut out in the last two. Texas was also just 2 of 14 on third down against Georgia, and 1 of 5 on fourth down.
Pavia sets the tone
Lea took advantage of the transfer portal to revamp both his roster and coaching staff. The biggest addition has been quarterback Diego Pavia. The graduate transfer from New Mexico State is why Vanderbilt leads the SEC and is 11th nationally holding the ball for 33 minutes a game.
The 'Dores also lead the SEC converting 52.1% of third downs, and Pavia has been picked off once. That has Vandy tied for first among Power Four programs this season, and the Commodores lead the SEC losing only two turnovers.
"He is definitely the straw that stirs the drink for them in the run game and in the pass game," Sarkisian said of Pavia. "He's definitely infused a competitive, winning mentality into that team. We've got our work cut out defending him."
Line struggles
Texas has one of the most experienced offensive lines with left tackle Kelvin Banks considered a likely high-first round draft pick in the NFL next April. The whole unit struggled against Georgia's pass rush, giving up seven sacks, two of which led to fumbles. Banks gave up his first sack since the first game of 2023.
Vanderbilt doesn't have the same defensive talent up front as Georgia. Lea, a former defensive coordinator at Notre Dame who is running this defense, no doubt picked up ideas on how to pressure Texas quarterbacks.
Road trip
Texas plays its first SEC road game at the league's smallest stadium with capacity limited even more with the south end zone still under construction as part of Vanderbilt's first major renovation since 1981.
The Longhorns played Mississippi State and Georgia at home, and played Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Vanderbilt usually provides a home-field advantage for the visitors. But the Commodores are 4-0 at home starting with beating Virginia Tech in overtime and that upset of Alabama on Oct. 5. The fans should be out in force.
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-Rebecca Schleicher
