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
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Record0–9 (0–9 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTodd Fitch (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorTed Roof (1st season)
Home stadiumVanderbilt Stadium
(Capacity: 40,550)
2020 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
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  
Arkansas  3 –7   3 –7  
Mississippi State  3 –7   4 –7  
Championship: Alabama 52, Florida 46
  • # – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * – ineligible for postseason due to self imposed ban
    Note: Due to COVID-19, the SEC played a conference-only schedule.
Rankings from AP Poll.

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.

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)
1Florida624 (53)
2Georgia613 (43)
3Tennessee434
4Kentucky405
5South Carolina287
6Missouri224
7Vanderbilt101

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]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 266:30 p.m.at No. 10 Texas A&M
SECN Alt.L 12–1724,073
October 36:30 p.m.No. 20 LSU
SECNL 7–412,000
October 1011:00 a.m.South Carolina
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN
SECNL 7–411,288
October 313:00 p.m.Ole Miss
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN (rivalry)
SECNL 21–54840
November 72:30 p.m.at Mississippi State
SECNL 17–2412,888
November 1411:00 a.m.at Kentucky
SECNL 35–3812,000
November 2111:00 a.m.No. 6 Floridadagger
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN
ABCL 17–381,147
November 28 [a]11:00 a.m.at Missouri
SECNL 0–4111,053
December 123:00 p.m.Tennessee
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN (rivalry)
SECNL 17–42849
^[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]

Players drafted into the NFL
See also: 2021 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
254Dayo OdeyingboDEIndianapolis Colts

References
  1. "Preseason SEC media poll, All-SEC Team announced". SECSports.com. Southeastern Conference. September 23, 2020.
  2. Talty, John (July 30, 2020). "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  3. Dellenger, Ross (July 30, 2020). "Sources: SEC Adopts Conference-Only Schedule With Sept. 26 Start". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  4. Dellenger, Ross (August 7, 2020). "SEC's New Schedule: Winners, Losers and... Mizzou". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  5. "Vanderbilt at Missouri Football Game Postponed". SEC. October 13, 2020.
  6. "2020 Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). Vanderbilt University Department of Athletics. August 7, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  7. Toppmeyer, Blake; Sparks, Adam (November 23, 2020). "Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt postponed; Commodores to play Missouri". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  8. "Vanderbilt University Football Schedule: 2020 Season". SEC.
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