While Lane Kiffin appears to be the No. 1 target in the SEC, the Penn State opening appears to be more of a mystery now.

The Vanderbilt Commodores face the Texas Longhorns this Saturday, with both teams looking to prove their cases in the College Football Playoff picture.

The Vanderbilt defense came up tall on the final Hail Mary against Missouri, holding back the Tigers as they had all day. That made for a Commodores win, their second in a row at home against a ranked opponent.

Speaking on the SEC Weekly Teleconference, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea expressed his admiration for the toughness Sarkisian’s team displayed in those two wins. “This is a resilient team, it’s a team that’s never out of the game. No lead is safe,” Lea said.

That’s always in the back of the mind for coaches: It’s still a profession, and it could still go south. Ralph Friedgen coached Maryland for 10 years before his alma mater fired him. He was offered the Georgia Tech job in 2002, after his first year at Maryland, and said later that, in hindsight, he should have taken it.

Coaching legend Nick Saban sent a strong warning to the Vanderbilt Commodores and their fans about coach Clark Lea.

Here's what Clark Lea said in his "College GameDay" interview before Vanderbilt football's matchup with Missouri.