NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt football brings a three-game losing streak into Saturday’s SEC home date with Arkansas, a 6 p.m. Central kickoff that coach Clark Lea has framed as a test of the Commodores’ urgency more than their talent edge.
The Commodores opened 3-0 before dropping three straight, including a 52-17 home loss to Ole Miss last week. Arkansas arrives as the other SEC team still without a conference win, but Lea told his roster this week that Vanderbilt has been playing as if it is entitled to results.
Lea said the group has shown that it cares, yet still needs to play with the intensity the league demands on every snap. He tied the message to his own leadership, saying the problem is not separate from the imprint he leaves on the program.
Injuries continue to thin the depth chart. Defensive lineman Aaron Bryant is out for the season with an ACL injury, and offensive lineman Gunner Givens is also done for the year after a hip injury that coaches expect to take about six months to heal. Offensive lineman Mitchell Smith is expected back after the bye following a knee procedure, and backup quarterback Blaze Berlowitz is recovering from collarbone surgery after finishing the Ole Miss game with the injury.
Linebacker Jamison Curtis, cornerback Jaylin Lackey and wide receiver Kahden Smith remain out with soft-tissue issues. The early availability list tagged safety Dontae Carter and EDGE Brian Allen Jr. as questionable, while starting corner Martel Hight was probable.
A win would give Vanderbilt its first SEC victory of the season and keep bowl hopes alive with five regular-season games left after Saturday. A loss would deepen a skid Lea is trying to stop before it defines the rest of the fall.
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