For the first time in 96 years, Texas will face Vanderbilt on the gridiron in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday, Oct. 26.

After almost a century of not playing each other, the Longhorns could benefit from the timing as the matchup comes after back-to-back games with rivals Oklahoma and SEC powerhouse Georgia. 

This contest has not been discussed largely because the Longhorns will face schools of higher rank like Florida and Texas A&M. According to ESPN’s College Football Power Index, Vanderbilt ranks 76th, while Texas ranks third. Despite the difference in ranking, Vanderbilt leads the all-time record with Texas 8–3–1, with the last matchup in 1928, which the Commanders won. 

In his fourth year as Vanderbilt’s head coach, Clark Lea strives to bounce back this year after the team’s 2–10 record and 0-8 performance in the SEC. This came after a 5–7 record and a 2-6 SEC performance the year prior.

“A year ago I spoke to you about our program taking the next step, about building on the progress we made from year one to year two,” Lea said at the 2024 SEC Media Days this week. “Success is seldom linear and unfortunately, we dipped in our performance and fell well short of our goal of competing in postseason play.”

In those same Media Days, Lea praised three of his players for their productivity during his tenure at the school. Furthermore, these players could also play a big role off the field, being mentors for the recruiting class.

Senior safety CJ Taylor was deemed the “most explosive playmaker on defense” by Lea and could directly mentor freshman safety Dontae Carter. Given a four-star rating by 247 Sports, Carter possesses a similar frame as Taylor when he first came out of college. Carter is 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, while Taylor was a 6-foot and 195 pound recruit.

Taylor has accumulated 117 total tackles across 29 career games at Vanderbilt. Carter could learn from Taylor in hopes of one day making the same impact.

Carter’s fellow four-star recruits, Brycen Coleman and Witt Edwards will look for mentorship through senior offensive lineman Gunnar Hansen, who was praised by Lea for “anchoring the offensive line.” Coleman and Edwards are both 6-foot-5, with tight-end Coleman weighing in at 210 pounds and wide receiver Edwards at 5 pounds heavier. 

The tight-end and wide receiver duo of Coleman and Edwards could produce immediate impact for the Commodores as the two most productive tight-ends Justin Ball and Logan Kyle transferred from Vanderbilt. Ball, who caught 15 receptions for 131 yards, and Kyle, who caught 11 receptions for 103 yards, transferred to Mississippi State and James Madison University, respectively.

Lea also mentioned Langston Patterson, a junior linebacker returning to the team. Patterson led Vanderbilt with 74 tackles. 

Despite an unprecedented amount of time not seeing each other on the football field, and with rankings that suggest otherwise, this game is still a big test for Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. 

The Longhorn’s trip to Nashville will be the first away game of their SEC debut season and  Sarkisian will want to keep his undefeated conference away game record that started after last season’s iconic Alabama game.