Diego Pavia made it clear that Vanderbilt entered its Week 10 matchup with Texas with the College Football Playoffs in sight. They might have to recalibrate their expectations after a wild upset loss to the Longhorns in Austin.
Vanderbilt trailed all game but came alive in the fourth quarter to nearly pull off the comeback. The Commodores cut the lead to three points with eight seconds remaining, but were unable to recover the onside kick to give Texas the 34-31 victory.
THE LONGHORNS TAKE DOWN NO. 9 VANDERBILT IN AUSTIN 🤘🔥 @TexasFootball pic.twitter.com/Ka1kMvf9my
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 1, 2025
Vanderbilt entered Week 10 with a top-10 ranking after consecutive top-15 wins over LSU and Missouri. They now drop to 7-2 on the year with one month remaining in the regular season.
Fans were simultaneously in awe of Texas' ability to keep winning close games and stunned by the Commodores' letdown performance. Many also debated whether Vanderbilt is still a College Football Playoff team on social media.
“TEXAS KEEPS SURVIVING…,” one fan commented.
“Texas almost collapsed but they get their 3rd close victory in the past 3 weeks!” another user reacted.
“We all knew Vanderbilt wasn't for real,” another fan cryptically tweeted.
Although Vanderbilt entered the game ranked No. 9, Texas was actually favored to win by 3.5 points. Still, nobody predicted the way the Longhorns dominated the game through three quarters only to nearly fall apart over the final 15 minutes.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning rebounded in the win with 328 passing yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He was statistically outdueled by Pavia, who ended with 365 passing yards, three touchdowns, 43 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, but came away with the victory.
The Longhorns entered Week 10 ranked No. 20 and will now likely move back into the top 15. They have a bye in Week 11 before returning to the road to face No. 5 Georgia on Nov. 15.
Vanderbilt has one more game before its next bye and will look to rebound in Week 11 at home against Auburn.



















