Nashville, TENN--Sometimes all the edge, momentum and confidence in the world only does so much.

On Saturday one of the nation's best teams proved that theory's validity as No.5 Texas took down No. 25 Vanderbilt to end Vanderbilt's three-game winning streak.

That result shouldn't inspire doom and gloom. More than anything it was just an example of a top-five team living up to that billing.

Vanderbilt had to be nearly perfect to escape with a win on Saturday and it wasn't, simple as that. That doesn't mean it hasn't grown or evolved, it just means Texas was better on Saturday and is better.

A win on Saturday would've shocked the country and while Vanderbilt has grown accustomed to providing that feeling, Saturday wasn't shocking or something to be dramaticized.

It was just one of the country's best teams being one of the country's best teams.

Rather than fulfilling the story of an upset of epic proportion, Saturday was what it was expected to be. No field storm, no national coverage.

It saw Texas out gain Vanderbilt 394-269, it saw Vanderbilt struggle to tackle Texas' perimeter weapons in space and it saw the Commodores look uniquely human in a way it hadn't yet through seven games.

Clark Lea's team is closer to a team of Texas' caliber than it ever has been, but it was reminded that it's not quite there yet. Vanderbilt's College Football Playoff hopes were all but crushed on Saturday as it picked up its third loss.

Its label as a good team and one of college football's best turnaround stories wasn't, though.

Saturday doesn't change what Vanderbilt has already done and what it could accomplish the rest of the way.

Vanderbilt still has favorable odds of being a bowl team, it still has a chance to be ranked again if all goes well and it still has a chance to put together a legacy unlike any of Vanderbilt's teams in recent memory.

In a way, Saturday was a reminder of that.

Vanderbilt looked like it belonged against a team that has legitimate national title aspirations. Instead of being a "small, but pesky" opponent, Vanderbilt was a rèsumè booster for Steve Sarkisian's team.

It also doesn't take any solace in that.

Vanderbilt wasn't about moral victories on Saturday, it was disappointed and hurt. It thought it could leave FirstBank Stadium with a win.

So did its students, that showed up in waves on Saturday and made this one into an environment that felt as much like an SEC one as it has all season.

That's a result of a team that's created hope, which is what Vanderbilt has been all season and created again on Saturday.

Saturday's environment was still largely reliant on Texas's large contingent of fans, though. It was also a reminder of the powers that it still competes against.

Vanderbilt is a good team and could be in the future, but it will always likely face better ones as a result of the league that it plays in.

Saturday was a reminder of progress, but also a reminder of the chaos that has to ensue for Vanderbilt to pull off a win like this.