Why more than a bowl is at stake for Vols vs. Vandy
Marcus Tatum can’t get the image of jubilant Vanderbilt players out of his mind. The Commodores reveled in their 45-34 victory over Tennessee in the 2016 regular-season finale.
That result ensured a bowl game for Vanderbilt and meant Tennessee was headed to the Music City Bowl instead of the Sugar Bowl.
“I was a freshman when they were dancing on the field,” said Tatum, a left tackle. “It was pretty embarrassing. I never want to feel that feeling again.”
The stakes weren’t high last season when the teams met with identical 4-7 records at Neyland Stadium, but the result was similar. Vanderbilt celebrated a 42-24 win.
Vanderbilt (5-6, 2-5 SEC) hasn’t won three straight against Tennessee (5-6, 2-5) since a six-game winning streak from 1920-26. The Commodores have a chance to do so on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, SEC Network) in Nashville.
Vols safety Todd Kelly Jr. accurately described this game as a “win-or-gohome” matchup. The winner goes to a bowl. The loser won’t and will finish last in the SEC East.
It’s also a chance for the Vols to regain respect in a rivalry that Tennessee historically dominated.
Kelly is one of several players in this matchup who was recruited by both teams. He remembers seeing Tennessee’s Power T logo while on his recruiting visit to Vanderbilt as a high school junior. Only the logo wasn’t displayed in the usual manner.
“Everywhere I saw Tennessee, they had the Power T upside down, so that kind of tells you how much respect they have for this program,” Kelly said. “I think I’m going to just explain to my teammates just how important this game is, really how they don’t respect us and just how important it is for us to win this ballgame.”
James Franklin was Vandy’s coach at the time. He gave a downtrodden program some swagger.
Franklin beat UT in two of his three years at Vandy before becoming Penn State’s coach. His successor, Derek Mason, is 2-2 against Tennessee.
Kelly researched the rivalry this week and noticed UT's two-game losing streaks to Vandy are uncommon.
“I grew up a fan (of Tennessee), growing up in Knoxville,” said Kelly, whose parents graduated from Tennessee, “so I always knew that it was a rivalry. Back when I grew up, they never really lost to Vanderbilt. These last two years, we’ve taken losses.”
That means juniors, like Tatum and nickelback Baylen Buchanan, have never beat Vandy.
Buchanan’s impression of the rivalry when he arrived at UT from Lawrenceville, Ga., hasn’t matched his reality.
“My impression of it was Tennessee beats Vanderbilt. That was my impression,” Buchanan said. “I was not expecting to lose two years in a row to Vanderbilt. It’s very important to us that we win this game this week.”
Instate flavor
Several of the top players in this year’s matchup played their high school ball within the borders. That adds sizzle to a rivalry that, as recently as a decade ago, didn’t have much.
Tennessee’s leading rusher, running back Ty Chandler, is from Nashville. So are starting defensive end Kyle Phillips and linebacker Daniel Bituli. Starting center Ryan Johnson is from Brentwood, which is just south of Nashville.
Vanderbilt running back, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who ranks third in the SEC in rushing yards, is from Nashville, as is cornerback Joejuan Williams, who leads all SEC East players with four interceptions.
Vanderbilt starting linebacker Donovan Sheffield is from Nashville. Linebacker Josh Smith is from nearby Murfreesboro and center Bruno Reagan is from Clarksville.
Those players, like Kelly, don’t need a history lesson. They know this game matters.
“It’s obviously a rivalry,” Kelly said, “and they don’t really like us.”