2017 Vanderbilt Commodores football team


The 2017 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee and compete in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Derek Mason. The team earned a final record of 5–7 in a season notable for wins against Kansas State, then in the top 20, and Tennessee, but also for sizeable losses against SEC opponents Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri. The Tennessee win at Neyland Stadium was the Commodores' fourth in six games, a feat unequaled by VU in that rivalry since 1926.

Schedule

Vanderbilt announced its 2017 football schedule on September 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home games and 5 away games in the regular season. The Commodores hosted SEC foes Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Missouri, and traveled to Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The Commodores hosted three of their four non–conference games, against Alabama A&M from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Kansas State from the Big 12 Conference and Western Kentucky from Conference USA. Vanderbilt traveled to Middle Tennessee and ended a five-game losing streak in opening games dating from 2012.

Game summaries

Middle Tennessee

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1915Vanderbilt 30–013–310–33–02016Vanderbilt, 47–24

Alabama A&M

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
First game in series

Kansas State

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1984Vanderbilt 26–141–01–00–01984Vanderbilt 26–14

Alabama

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1903Vanderbilt 30–019–61–413–28–26–31–22011Alabama 34–0

Florida

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1945Vanderbilt 7–010–37–27–15–13–22–12016Florida 13–6

Georgia

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1893Vanderbilt 35–019–56–211–25–28–312016Vanderbilt 17–16

Ole Miss

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1894Vanderbilt 40–038–50–227–24–211–262016Vanderbilt 38–17

South Carolina

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1961South Carolina 23–74–222–112–112016South Carolina 13–10

Western Kentucky

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1931Vanderbilt 52–64–13–11–02016Vanderbilt 31–30 OT

Kentucky

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1896Vanderbilt 6–042–43–427–19–215–24–22016Kentucky 13–6

Missouri

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1895Missouri 14–03–5–11–1–12–42016Missouri 26–17

Tennessee

First meetingResultOverall recordHomeAwayLast meetingResult
1892Vanderbilt 12–031–75–520–36–411–39–12016Vanderbilt 45–34