For week 10 of college football, the No. 20 Texas Longhorns will face off against the No. 9 Vanderbilt Commodores at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Not only looking to extend their winning streak, this game will serve as the Longhorns’ first home game in over a month. So, let’s dive further into what’s in store for this Texas-Vanderbilt matchup.
Vanderbilt Commodores tight end Eli Stowers (9) celebrates a catch against the Missouri Tigers, Oct. 25, 2025 at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
They’re a tough and well-balanced team, to say the least.
The Commodores are led by senior quarterback Diego Pavia, an Albuquerque-native who maintains a completion percentage of 68.8 on the field.
He has recorded 15 touchdowns and five interceptions across 1,698 yards, but his talents aren’t limited to his passing game. Pavia proves to be a dual-threat as a runner, having registered five touchdowns across 458 rushing yards this season.
However, Vanderbilt’s offensive strength doesn’t stop there, as running backs Sedrick Alexander and Makhilyn Young have both cataloged at least five rushing touchdowns across more than 380 yards. Other notable offensive pieces include wide receiver Junior Sherill and tight end Eli Stowers, who have a combined total of seven touchdowns and 709 receiving yards.Â
On the front, Vanderbilt runs a conventional defense that has logged four forced fumbles and 21 sacks, and has held teams to an average of 18.8 points and 322.6 yards per game this season.
Managed by head coach Clark Lea, the Commodores possess one of the most veteran teams in college football, listing 28 juniors, 19 seniors, and 26 graduate students on their roster.
Holding a 7-1 record, their only recorded defeat was a 30-14 loss against the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide in week 6. Despite this, they have three conference wins under their belt — South Carolina (week 3), LSU (week 8), and Missouri (week 9). Their most recent victory was won with a last-minute touchdown at the bottom of the fourth quarter.Â
Texas Longhorns lineman during first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores, Oct. 26, 2024 at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
The last time these two met was at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee in week 9 of the 2024 season, which resulted in a close 27-24 victory for the Longhorns.
As for this season, Texas started off as the preseason favorites but fell in the rankings after two losses against No. 1 Ohio State in week 1 and the unranked Florida Gators in week 6.
While the Longhorns have slowly crawled their way back up the polls, they still showcase inconsistency, which has been highlighted in their last two games, which were won in overtime against unranked SEC teams.
However, its been the opposite story for the Commodores, starting off unranked they have climbed their way in the ranking and proven themselves as a notable powerhouse.
Despite the possibility of quarterback Arch Manning missing Saturday’s game due to injury, Texas remains the week 10 favorites. However, if one thing is clear — this matchup certainly won’t be an easy ride for the Longhorns.
Be sure to watch the pair battle it out on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 11 a.m. on ABC.