Saturday was a monumental day for Vanderbilt football, and their fans everywhere have so many reasons to celebrate.
With the Commodores’ 24-21 win over No. 24 Kentucky on the road in Week 11, they snapped a 26-game SEC losing streak and claimed their first conference victory since October 19, 2019 (when they beat Missouri 21-14).
Trailing by four late in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt took then lead with about 30 seconds left with quarterback Mike Wright connected with receiver Will Sheppard for an eight-yard touchdown. And with a good extra point, the Commodores had a field-goal lead when the Wildcats got the ball back for a failed last-chance drive.
The drive that snapped the streak for @vandyfootball 🏈 pic.twitter.com/X5sgaPFcqf
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 12, 2022
And just like that, Vanderbilt is a winner in the SEC again. Along with snapping a three-year conference losing streak, it was also the first SEC win for Commodores coach Clark Lea, who was understandably emotional afterward.
“I’m proud of all the guys; they earned that,” Lea told the SEC Network after praising Wright’s play and perseverance. “They earned that. It’s been a long, long run — excuse my emotions — they earned it.”
An emotional win for @Coach_Lea and @VandyFootball over No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats 👏 pic.twitter.com/Ttpx9FBB08
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 12, 2022
Tearing up, Lea continued to shower his squad with compliments in his emotional post-game interview. He continued:
“You’ve got a bunch of guys that are fighting. And we’re building a program. Building a program’s hard. And it takes tough people that are aligned, doing the right things the right way. And that’s what these guys are doing. I’m glad they got rewarded today.”
Like the Commodores, college football Twitter was elated for Vanderbilt... and took a few jabs at Kentucky too.
Nobody hands Vanderbilt 27 conference losses in a row, the Commodores have done it!!
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 12, 2022
VANDY!!! THE COMMODORES ARE 32 SECONDS AWAY FOR THEIR FIRST CONFERENCE WIN IN 3 YEARS! pic.twitter.com/E99hAmbUyc
— The Transfer Portal CFB (@TPortalCFB) November 12, 2022
TOUCHDOWN VANDY WITH 30 SECONDS LEFT AND THEY LEAD #24 KENTUCKY!!!!
— CFB Home (@CFBHome) November 12, 2022
Vandy coach crying on the field man cancel the rest of the season 😭😭😭😭
— Trill Withers (@TylerIAm) November 12, 2022
I love this https://t.co/09QyedWEis
— Caleb 🍊 (@CalebLewis510) November 12, 2022
VANDY WINS AN SEC GAME
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) November 12, 2022
Losing to St. Peter’s in hoops and Vandy in football. That’s a gross little run you got there, Kentucky.
— mattisbear (@mattisbear) November 12, 2022
anchor down!!!!!!! https://t.co/yhtTTr1Siq
— haley brooke chapman (@brookethornt) November 12, 2022
Kentucky hates UT so much that they're losing to Vandy on purpose to make UT's SOS worse
— Blake (@_BlakeTucker) November 12, 2022
Vandy!!
— Bud Elliott (@BudElliott3) November 12, 2022
The Streak IS OVER!!! Lol https://t.co/6onC0k7VIF
— ralph bowie (@RalphBowie) November 12, 2022
Congratulations Vandy! pic.twitter.com/6rXAHf4FX9
— Ashley Baker 🗽 (@ashiebaker) November 12, 2022
I was skeptical coming into this season, but Clark Lea is doing a great job at Vandy https://t.co/zUQGw1H7Tq
— zach ragan (@zachTNT) November 12, 2022
Vandy has its flu game. https://t.co/8k5oGvDDmy
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) November 12, 2022
We live in a world where UConn and Vandy both beat top 25 teams on the same day
IN FOOTBALL
— Michael Sauls (@mcsauls) November 12, 2022
God I've never loved Vandy more
— Buck Reising (@BuckReising) November 12, 2022
