NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For the first time since 2013, Vanderbilt football is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
Clark Lea’s Commodores are ranked No. 25 in the AP poll released Sunday, as well as No. 25 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. With a 5-2 mark, Vanderbilt is off to its best start since 2008 and has won its first four games at home for the first time since 1982.
Vandy last appeared in the AP poll in the final edition of the 2013 rankings. The Commodores were ranked 24th after defeating Houston, 41-24, in the Compass (now Birmingham) Bowl to finish 9-4.
Vanderbilt has not played a game as a ranked team since the 2012 Music City Bowl when the No. 24 Dores defeated NC State, 38-24. That team capped the 2012 season 9-4 and ranked 23rd.
Saturday’s game against No. 5 Texas will be the first time Vanderbilt has played a regular season game as an AP-ranked team since Oct. 18, 2008. Vanderbilt was ranked for three weeks under Bobby Johnson that season, with the last game as a ranked team when 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt fell at No. 10 Georgia, 24-14. That is also the last time Vandy played a game in which both teams were ranked.
Vanderbilt hosts the Longhorns on Saturday for the first meeting between the sides since 1928. Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network.
