In the world of college football, 22 years is an eternity.

So you can imagine just how miserable Vanderbilt football fans must have been when the Commodores lost all 22 games they played against Tennessee from 1983 until 2004.

There were Commodores fans that had been born and graduated college without knowing the thrill of victory against their in-state rival.

And likewise, there were Tennessee fans that had gone from adolescence to adulthood without knowing what it was like to lose to the Vols’ conference mates located just a couple hours down Interstate 40.

During the Vols’ 22-game winning streak in the series, Tennessee was winning games by an average score of 34-12. The Vols shut out Vanderbilt seven times during that time period and held the Commodores to 10 points or fewer 13 times.

It was nothing short of an abusive relationship, with the end-of-season meetings becoming increasingly hopeless for the Commodores.

Enter senior QB Jay Cutler and his sidekick, a talented freshman WR by the name of Earl Bennett.

The duo began the 2005 season by pushing the Commodores to a 4-0 record and had Vanderbilt on track for its first bowl appearance since 1982, but the season got way off track with a six-game losing streak before a season-ending date with Tennessee at Neyland Stadium.

With no bowl game on the horizon, things were set up for another disappointing end to a losing season.

But Cutler had different plans for his final collegiate game.

Trailing the Vols by a field goal late in the fourth quarter, Cutler rifled a ball to Bennett in between defenders on a slant route to put the Commodores ahead 28-24 on what ended up being the game-winning touchdown, ending the burden of misery Vanderbilt fans carried for more than two decades.

The postgame quotes, captured by the Associated Press, tell the story of the emotions tied to this game:

“You see grown men crying and you realize how long it’s been
since we’ve won,” Cutler said. “It tells us how much it means to
this program.”

The quotes also told the story from the Tennessee perspective after the Commodores assured the Vols would not be playing in a bowl game in 2005:

“Before you start building back anything, you have to hit rock
bottom. This is rock bottom,” Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. “We had plenty of
opportunities to win the game. We didn’t make the plays to do
that.”

Given the perspective of that game being 10 years in the rear view mirror, it is clear to see that it was a turning point in the Vanderbilt-Tennessee rivalry.

During the last 10 meetings, the average score has leveled out to a palatable 24-19. The Commodores have won three games during the decade, lost one in overtime and lost another by a single point after missing a field goal for the win.

In other words, the games have become worthy of being called a rivalry again.

So when Derek Mason takes the Commodores onto the field at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, and the announcers make mention of how Vanderbilt has won two of the last three games in this series, remember that it was the performance of Cutler and Bennett that changed the fate of this rivalry 10 years ago.

For the first time in a long time, they made Vanderbilt matter to Tennessee.