BLACKSBURG — Welcome to the party, Vanderbilt.

The Commodores have outscored their opponents 65-7 over the last six quarters. The dominating play has led to road wins over Virginia Tech and South Carolina, and it’s now resulted in Vanderbilt being ranked in my Associated Press Top 25 ballot.

Vanderbilt opened the weekend unranked and moved up to 11th in my ballot after a 31-7 win at South Carolina. Would the outcome have been different if LaNorris Sellers hadn’t been knocked out of the game when Langston Patterson hit him in the helmet? I don’t think so. Even with Patterson ejected for targeting, Vanderbilt’s defense was playing lights out. And the offense wasn’t bad, either.

The loss means South Carolina dropped. And there was more movement as marquee wins and devastating losses meant

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