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As things currently stand, there aren’t any realistic scenarios that end with Vanderbilt securing a spot in the College Football Playoff. However, one fan came across a purported loophole the team could theoretically exploit in an attempt to secure a spot, and Clark Lea is apparently very willing to make it happen even though it may be against the rules.
The football program at Vanderbilt has a history stretching back to 1890, and the Commodores had never won more than nine games in a season heading into the current campaign. However, they finally hit the double-digit threshold by improving to 10-2 with a win over Tennessee in the final game of the regular season.
Their two losses came at the hands of Texas and Alabama, the second of which will face off against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday. That showdown could have some minor College Football Playoff implications if the Bulldogs win, although it’s unlikely the Crimson Tide will end up on the outside looking in even if they lose.
Vanderbilt, on the other hand, is sitting at #14 and virtually powerless in its quest to earn a spot in the field of 12 teams that will get to compete for a national championship. #13 Texas might be able to sneak into the playoffs if #4 Texas Tech ends up defeating #11 BYU, but the Commodores would not be part of a bubble conversation that could also include Miami and Notre Dame due to their loss to the Longhorns.
However, there is an admittedly unlikely way two of those teams could attempt to firm up their résumé, and it sounds like Clark Lea is willing to orchestrate what would be an unprecedented game.
Vanderbilt players were told to pack for a last-minute game that could boost their odds of making the College Football Playoff
Earlier this week, a fan on a Vanderbilt message board pored through the NCAA bylaws and supposedly discovered an interesting clause that would seemingly allow two teams to schedule a 13th game as long as it’s played in either Alaska or Hawaii.
#Vanderbilt should schedule a game against #Miami in Hawaii this weekend in an attempt to get into the CFP. pic.twitter.com/eSa1YEGk7d
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) December 2, 2025
It would appear that post came to the attention of Clark Lea, as Alaina Morris of Vandy247 says the head coach instructed his players to pack and prepare for a game if they could presumably convince Miami to take part in the scheme.
Clark Lea said yesterday he told his team to have their bags packed in case a team wanted to play this Saturday, and that is true of today.
He said he’d prepare his team to play in two days if called to.
— Alaina Morris (@alainammorris) December 3, 2025
It’s extremely unlikely that those two teams would be able to figure out the logistical issues that make that contest a bit of a pipe dream, but there is also one other major issue: it doesn’t seem like that rule actually exists.
I downloaded a copy of the most recent edition of the NCAA bylaws to try to verify that claim, and 17.9, the section that was cited, has nothing to do with college football is but is rather devoted to regulations concerning women’s equestrian competitions.
Section 17.32.2 is the only one that contains the phrase “additional football contest,” but it does not seem to apply in this scenario when you consider it reads:
Member institutions located in Alaska and Hawaii shall be permitted to exceed, by one, the maximum number of football contests permitted under Bylaw 17.12.6.1 but otherwise shall conform to the same maximum number of contests and dates of competition permitted other members of the Association.
Bummer.