Dandy Vandy

After Vanderbilt lost Clark Lea’s first 13 SEC games as coach, the Commodores won 24-21 at Kentucky last Saturday.

It broke a 26-game SEC losing streak by the Commodores, who won their first conference game since Oct. 19, 2019, when they beat Missouri 21-14 at home.

Vanderbilt hadn’t won an SEC road game since beating the University of Arkansas 45-31 on Oct. 27, 2018, at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

“I’m proud of all of the guys,” Lea said in an emotional postgame interview with the SEC Network in which he fought back tears. “They earned that.

“They just kept fighting. When you stay in the fight and you believe, good things happen and they were able to make it happen in the end.”

Lea, who played fullback at Vanderbilt, was the defensive coordinator from 2018-20 at Notre Dame, where he worked for Brian Kelly.

“I’m really excited for Clark,” said Kelly, in his first season as LSU’s coach. “We stay in touch.

“Look, building a program is hard, and you have to be able to stick with your process, and he has. They’re starting to see that begin to pay off.”

Vanderbilt got its first SEC road victory over a ranked team — Kentucky was No. 24 in the College Football Playoff poll — since 2007 when the Commodores won 17-6 at No. 6 South Carolina.