Game 1: Vanderbilt (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. Austin Peay (1-0, 0-0 UAC)
When: Saturday, Sept. 5 • 6 p.m.
Where: FirstBank Stadium • Nashville, Tenn.
Watch: SECN+ (Courtney Lyle and Rene Ingoglia)
Listen: 102.5 The Game (Andrew Allegretta, Norman Jordan and Kevin Ingram)
TEAM 6
• Head coach Clark Lea is entering his sixth season at the helm of the Commodores who are coming off the program’s first-ever 10-win season in 2025.
• The 2026 roster features 14 returners (eight on defense, six on offense) with five or more career starts at Vanderbilt.
• The Commodores received eight votes in the Preseason AP Top 25 poll and 37 votes in the US LBM coaches’ poll.
• Vandy’s schedule includes four games against ranked opponents, two against current top-10 teams.
HOME OPENER
• Vanderbilt has won four consecutive home openers entering Saturday’s contest at FirstBank Stadium against Austin Peay.
• The Dores also enter the game winners of seven straight at FirstBank after going undefeated at home last season.
• Saturday will mark the third meeting alltime between Vanderbilt and Austin Peay. The Commodores defeated the Governors in 2013 and 2015, outscoring the Govs 85-10 in those contests.
HISTORY MADE
• Vanderbilt won 10 games last season for the first time in program history. Vandy’s six SEC wins were also the most in school history.
• The Dores’ only two losses in the regular season came at Alabama, ranked No. 10 in the AP rankings, and at No. 20 Texas.
• Vanderbilt finished the regular season with the 11thbest strength of record and the 25th best strength of schedule according to ESPN.
• Vandy beat Tennessee for the first time since 2018, South Carolina for the first time since 2008, Auburn in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1949-50, and LSU for the first time since 1990, and went undefeated at home for the first time since 1982.
RUNNING IT BACK
• Vanderbilt returns its three leading running backs from a season ago in Sedrick Alexander, Makhilyn “MK” Young and Jamezell Lassiter.
• Alexander rushed for 567 yards on 105 carries and recorded a team-leading 11 touchdowns in 2025.
• Young found the end zone six times last season and totaled 414 rushing yards on 46 carries, averaging 9.0 yards per carry.
• Alexander and Young were both named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List.
• Lassiter averaged 15.9 yards per carry, scoring twice with 143 yards on nine attempts.
SHERRILL STRIKES
• Junior Sherrill is Vanderbilt’s top returning receiver after finishing the 2025 season with career-high totals of 54 catches for 784 yards and seven touchdowns.
• Sherrill was tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns and ranked second in receptions and receiving yards.
• The wideout totaled a career-best 123 receiving yards on eight catches against Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
• Sherrill’s next touchdown reception will give him 14 in his career and move him into the top 10 all-time at Vandy.
• The Nashvillian has made at least one catch in 37 straight games
THE D-LINE
• Vanderbilt returns a lot of experience on the defensive line.
• Miles Capers started all 13 games for the Commodores last season, finishing with 40 tackles including 9.5 for a loss of 60 yards. He led the Commodores in TFLs and with 4.5 sacks, adding five QB hurries.
• The Dores also return Issa Outtara, who missed most of 2025 due to injury. A native of Germany, Outtara was named a team captain for the second year in a row ahead of the 2026 campaign.
THE UNION
• The Dores were selected to the Joe Moore Award Watch List.
• Cade McConnell anchors a talented group upfront for the Dores in 2026.
• McConnell earned preseason second-team All-SEC honors from Phil Steele.
• Lyndon Cooper joins the squad after making 25 starts over the last two seasons at Pittsburgh. Cooper earned recognition on the Rimington Trophy Watch List this preseason.
• Kevo Wesley is the most experienced member of the program, entering his seventh season as a Commodore.
MARRIED TO THE GAME
• Sedrick Alexander’s 21 career rushing touchdowns and 26 overall scores both rank third in program history.
• The Texan carried the ball into the end zone 11 times in 2025, sixth-most in a season by a Commodore.
• Alexander added four receiving touchdowns last fall for 90 total points, fourthmost in a season at Vandy.
• The senior has totaled 1,524 yards on the ground for his career while adding 571 through the air.
• His 1,469 snaps entering the season are the most of any returning running back at the NCAA FBS level.
THE BROCKET LAUNCHER
• Brock Taylor tied the program record for points in a season with 99 in 2025 and broke the school’s mark for extra points with 60.
• Taylor ranks sixth on Vandy’s all-time scoring list with 192 points.
• He is 31-for-35 on field goals for his career after going 13-for-14 in 2025.
• Taylor ranks first all-time in career field goal percentage after recording the top
two marks on Vandy’s season record list the last two years.