The new video game College Football 26 released this week. This year’s game is the second release of this new era of college football video games. College Football 25 was released in July of 2024 after an 11-year hiatus due to the NCAA not wanting players to profit off their name, image and likeness.
With the recent release of the new game, why not see how EA thinks Vanderbilt’s football season will go.
So, that is exactly what I did. I decided to simulate Vanderbilt 2025-2026 season and see how the game thinks the Commodores wil fare this fall.
Before the simulation, this is the setup that I went with: the simulation was done in “Dynasty Mode.” Injuries were turned off for this simulation because they are so hard to predict. This simulation is done with the assumption that the team stays healthy, or at least no major contributors to the team end up getting hurt for a chunk of the season.
Secondly, the simulation was done with Clark Lea as the head coach rather than creating my own character. Recruiting was turned onto auto for this simulation because the focus is on just this season. The difficulty of the simulation was done on Varsity, which is the second easiest of the four difficulties in the game.
One last note: since FCS teams are not in the game, Charleston Southern, who is Vanderbilt’s first opponent, is referred to as FCS Southeast in the game.
Let’s see how the game thinks Vanderbilt will do this year.
Vanderbilt took care of business against Charleston Southern 55-3 in the first game of the season. The Commodores wasted no time putting the Buccaneers away.
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 14-0 in the first quarter and went up 38-0 at halftime. Diego Pavia threw 25/34 for 332 and a touchdown. He also carried the ball 13 times for 59 yards and ran one in. Richie Hoskins led all receivers with three catches for 74 yards.
The performance of the night, however, came from running back Sedrick Alexander, who carried the ball 24 times for 110 yards and ran in three touchdowns. His performance earned him SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
Vanderbilt’s first loss of the season came at the hands of Virginia Tech on the road 35-24.
The Commodores could not overcome a 21-7 halftime deficit despite going 8-for-15 on third downs. Pavia completed 22 of his 33 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown while running for 108 yards, which led the team.
Junior Sherrill was the highlight in the receiving corp as he caught seven passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
The third game was one to forget for Vanderbilt as they lost to South Carolina 51-21.
The Gamecocks scored 41 points in the first half and left no chance for Vanderbilt to make any sort of comeback. Pavia completed just 60 percent of his passes for 171 yards with an interception.
The Commodores got back in the win column over Georgia State with a 31-13 win.
Vanderbilt’s 14-point first half lead was too much for Georgia State to overcome. Pavia bounced back as he completed 75 percent of his passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Sedrick Alexander tore up the Panthers as carried the ball 26 times for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
The fifth game was not one Vanderbilt fans would want to see happen in real life. In the simulation, Utah State went to Nashville and beat the ‘Dores 38-16.
Utah State shutout Vanderbilt 28-0 in the first half as it outgained the Commodores 394-314 for the whole game. Pavia threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns in the game on 21/33 passing, but that was about all the good that happened for Vanderbilt.
The simulation did not think a stunning upset would happen again. Vanderbilt lost to Alabama 38-24. Another bad first half costs the Commodores yet again. Alabama jumped out to a 28-3 lead at half, and Vanderbilt could not muster up enough offense to come back.
Linebacker Langston Patterson did win SEC Defensive Player of the Week with eight tackles in the game.
Vanderbilt dropped to 0-3 in conference play with a 35-24 loss to LSU in Nashville.
The Commodores took a 24-21 lead going into the final quarter, but the Tigers scored 14 unanswered in the fourth to win. Pavia played solidly with 303 yards through the air and a touchdown, but an interception did hurt Vanderbilt in the end.
Vanderbilt lost in heartbreaking fashion to Missouri as it dropped its fourth consecutive loss 30-28.
The Commodores took a 28-14 lead entering the fourth quarter. It looked as if the losing streak was going to snap until the Tigers scored 16 points to come all the way back.
Pavia completed 75 percent of his passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns while Richie Hoskins caught five passes for 92 yards and a touchdown, but the defense could not come up with the big stops when it needed to.
Vanderbilt was eliminated from bowl contention with a 45-21 loss to Texas.
The Longhorns went up 28-7 in the first half and did not look back. Two Commodore turnovers end up contributing to the difference as they drop to 2-7.
The losing streak was finally snapped as Vanderbilt took down Auburn 38-21.
The Commodores came out firing as they shut out Auburn 31-0 in the first three quarters. They took the gas off the breaks in the end, but it did not matter despite being outscored 21-7 in the fourth.
Sedrick Alexander had a great day on the ground with 104 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. With the performance, Alexander broke the Vanderbilt single season rushing touchdown record with two games still to spare.
The Commodores captured their second consecutive victory with a 34-20 win over Kentucky.
Alexander carried the day again as he ran the ball 27 times for 93 yards and a touchdown. Pavia completed 13 of his 20 passes for 153 yards and touchdown. Langston Patterson came up big on the defense with eight tackles.
This is a game all Vanderbilt fans hope to see in November. The Commodores beat arch-rival Tennessee 31-27 and finish the season 5-7.
With the game tied at 21 entering the fourth quarter, the Commodores came up with one more scoring play in the end and upset the Volunteers. Martel Hight came away with eight tackles and Jordan Matthews tackled seven Tennessee players and picked off Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar.
So there you have it. EA thinks Vanderbilt will finish the season 5-7 (3-5) and miss bowl season. It is worthy to remember that these are not my predictions, but a computer simulation of the Commodores season.
Fans will soon see how accurate the simulation will turn out to be. Vanderbilt’s football season kicks off on August 30 against Charleston Southern at 6 p.m. CT.
