The Vanderbilt Commodores have suddenly become the college football team that nobody wants to play.
One week after shocking the world and upsetting the then-No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 40-35, the Commodores added another impressive win to their resume, knocking off Kentucky on the road 20-13. It's the second straight SEC win for Vanderbilt, which has logged multiple SEC wins in the same season just once since 2018.
The Commodores' recent run, which also includes a three-point overtime loss to Missouri the week before Alabama, has impressed ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit, so much so, in fact, that he suggested the 'Dores could be red-hot entering their showdown in two weeks with No. 1 Texas, which he hinted could suffer the same fate as Alabama.
"How bout it? @VandyFootball follows up historic upset of Bama last week with another massive win over UK in Lexington," Herbstreit tweeted. "Diego Pavia with another stellar performance and the Dores D stepped up again. Vandy now 4-2 and has Ball St next week before hosting Texas the following week in Nashville. Texas will be coming off RRR and UGA. Hmmm."
To Herbstreit's point, if there were ever a time for Vanderbilt to capitalize on its momentum and catch Texas on its heels, it's in two weeks.
The Longhorns have cruised through the early part of their schedule, winning all six of their games by multiple scores, including Saturday's 34-3 rout of No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry.
But next week Texas hosts No. 5 Georgia, which has a top-15 scoring defense and more play-makers than any of the teams UT has faced so far.
A win over Ball State next week would give Vandy its third in a row, its most since 2017, and would set up an intriguing matchup two weeks from now. The Commodores have shown they thrive as the underdog, which is exactly what they'll be on Oct. 26.
Related: Kirk Herbstreit Sends Strong Message After Oregon Upsets Ohio State