"Does he realize the Liberty Bowl is in January?" - CFB fans brutally troll Clark Lea over bold playoff aspirations for Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea is setting high expectations for his team heading into the 2025 season. At the Southeastern Conference media day on Monday, Lea suggested that his Commodores are aiming to qualify for the 12-team College Football Playoff.

"We believe we have what it takes to play into January," Lea said.

When fans caught wind of Lea's ambitions for the 2025 season, some took cheeky digs at the Vanderbilt coach.

"Does he realize the Liberty Bowl is in January," one tweeted.

"Liberty bowl is in Jan…" another added.

"He’s right. The liberty bowl is mayo bowl is Jan 2nd," a third commented.

Others also joined in to mock Lea, suggesting that it was unlikely for Vanderbilt to make the CFP.

"And I believe you should not drink so much sir," a fan wrote.

"Ok i'll bite...play what?" a user tweeted.

"F**K yes talking season is HERE, baby," another added.

Diego Pavia is expected to continue as Vanderbilt's starting quarterback for the 2025 season. He transferred to Vanderbilt ahead of the 2024 season, after playing two years at New Mexico State. Pavia also spent two seasons at New Mexico Military.

In his first season with the Commodores, Pavia recorded 2,293 yards, 20 touchdowns, four interceptions and eight rushing TDs. He was named the SEC Newcomer of the Year and earned a second-team All-SEC selection.

Clark Lea posted his first winning season at Vanderbilt in 2024 season

NCAA Football: Vanderbilt HC Clark Lea - Source: Imagn

Vanderbilt hired Clark Lea in December 2020. He has compiled a 16-33 record across five years with the program.

However, the 2024 season was the first year in which Lea led Vanderbilt to a winning record (7-6). The Commodores won the Birmingham Bowl against Georgia Tech 35–27.

It will be interesting to see how Vanderbilt fares in the 2025 season. Although Lea has big hopes of potentially making the playoffs, a lot will rely on Pavia.

About the author

Arnold is a journalist covering College Sports and the NFL at Sportskeeda. He has been with the company since August 2022.

Arnold graduated with a degree in Mass Media from MIC. As a sports fanatic, he pursued writing to express his thoughts and opinions on sports events across the globe. He has also worked at Wizcraft and Publicis.

Arnold began supporting the Kansas City Chiefs after watching Patrick Mahomes lead them to Super Bowl glory in 2020. He also has a soft corner for the New York Yankees since he's lived in New York for two years. Arnold's favorite coach of all time is Andy Reid, and the Chiefs dynasty looks far from over.

In his free time, Arnold enjoys reading, exercising, and traveling. He follows several other sports including football, cricket, tennis, basketball, boxing and F1.

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Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.