Vanderbilt is going to be left out of the College Football Playoff this year barring some sort of miracle, and the Commodores reportedly explored a desperation move in an attempt to change that outcome before the rankings are finalized.
The latest College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night, and Vanderbilt came in at No. 14. With the 10-2 Commodores not playing in the SEC Championship Game, there is virtually no way for them to move up far enough in the rankings to receive consideration for an at-large bid.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Vanderbilt explored the possibility of adding a 13th game to their schedule in hopes of showcasing that they deserve a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff field. Not surprisingly, there were too many obstacles to make it happen.
Ultimately, the operational and legislative requirements along with last-minute scheduling constraints could not support the game.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 4, 2025
It is unclear which teams Vanderbilt looked into facing or whether school officials even got that far. Had they managed to schedule a game, it would not have counted toward their overall record. The goal would have been to give the College Football Playoff selection committee another game to use to evaluate Vanderbilt, but there are many reasons why committee members probably would not have been comfortable factoring it in, anyway.
Vanderbilt had an excellent season, with its only two losses coming against ranked SEC opponents in Alabama and Texas. One thing working against them is that they do not have a win against a team that finished in the top 25 in the final regular-season CFP rankings. South Carolina, LSU, Tennessee and Missouri were all ranked at the time Vanderbilt beat them, but that is no longer the case.
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea recently called out the CFP selection committee over what he perceives as a bias toward his team. Many fans would likely agree, but the bottom line is Vanderbilt could only afford one loss with the way the season turned out.
