Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea called it a night that demanded “psychological maturity.” His 16th-ranked Commodores delivered, rallying past Auburn 45–38 in overtime to move to 8–2 on the season.
“We found a way to gut out a win on a tough night,” Lea said. “For the start to go the way it did, I never felt like the sideline ever lagged energy. I’ve got a really resilient team.”
The story again centered on Diego Pavia, who totaled 489 yards and four touchdowns, 377 passing and 112 rushing. “In our minds, he’s the best player in the country,” Lea said. “When the ball’s in his hands, we have a chance.”
Lea credited Vanderbilt’s tempo adjustment for flipping momentum. The Commodores piled up more than 300 yards after halftime, turning to their high-speed “NASCAR” package. “It’s probably the fastest we’ve gone this season,” Lea said. “It gave us space, and when we got space, Diego did a great job attacking it.”
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Receivers Trey Richardson and Eli Stowers both topped 100 yards. Richardson hit the century mark on three catches for 124 and Stowers with 12 for 122. “Those guys made plays on the ball in critical moments,” Lea said. “You can’t say enough about them.”
Lea stood by his fourth-down decision late in regulation that failed to convert. “I wanted to end it in regulation,” he said. “They had used all their timeouts, and we were going to drive down and win it. We just came up short.”
The defense responded with the final stop in overtime. “Good call, well executed,” Lea said of the coverage that sealed it.
Vanderbilt heads into a bye week before closing the regular season with Kentucky and at Tennessee, still chasing what Lea calls “the mission, winning and aiming for those playoffs.”
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