Vanderbilt left out of College Football Playoff despite 10-2 record

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Vanderbilt football is officially out of the College Football Playoff.

The Commodores were not one of the 12 teams named during the selection show Dec. 7. They will await selection to a bowl Dec. 7, which is likely to be the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa or the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.

Vanderbilt finished its season 10-2 with wins over Tennessee, Missouri and LSU, but the Commodores were left out due to the committee's perception that they lacked a marquee win. Other teams on the bubble such as Alabama, Miami and Notre Dame all had at least one win over a top-20 team while Vanderbilt did not.

The Commodores argued throughout the week for their inclusion in the playoff due to their high-powered offense led by Diego Pavia, who is a Heisman candidate, as well as the committee being biased against Vanderbilt due to low preseason expectations. Coach Clark Lea explored trying to play a 13th game against another bubble team, but NCAA restrictions on playing more than 12 games, as well as on neutral-site games, made that impossible.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football left out of CFP despite 10-2 record

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