Fearless Prediction: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt

Back in 2011, Tennessee edged Vanderbilt 27-21 in overtime. In the locker room after the game, Tennessee’s players lifted head coach Derek Dooley in the air in celebration. Dooley then yelled, “The one thing that Tennessee does is always kick the s— out of Vandy!”

Dooley’s vulgar assessment was pretty much correct. The Vols had knocked off the Commodores in 28 of the previous 29 meetings.

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But times have changed. Since 2012, Vanderbilt has beaten Tennessee in 5 of their last 8 meetings. It’s not like the Commodores have become a conference power. Instead, it is more of an indictment of the inability of Dooley, Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt to restore Tennessee’s dominance in what used to be as close to guaranteed win, pretty much ever since General Robert Neyland arrived in Knoxville in 1926.

We fast forward to 2020, a season in which the Vols are not good, and the Commodores are worse. Tennessee is 2-6 and Vanderbilt is 0-8. Tennessee’s coach (Pruitt) is on the hot seat, while Vanderbilt dismissed its coach (Derek Mason) a couple of weeks ago.

This game was supposed to be played on Nov. 28, but it was pushed into December to help Vandy and Missouri get their 10 games in this season. Vandy’s game last weekend against Georgia was postponed because the Commodores didn’t reach the minimum roster requirements. COVID-19 protocols have made the march to the finish a difficult one, in a season both the Vols and Commodores would rather forget.

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In terms of Saturday’s game … is anyone going to score? Tennessee has one of the worst offenses in the nation, ranked 105th. Who will start at quarterback? It looks like a 2 man race. “Harrison (Bailey) and J.T. (Shrout) will take the majority of the reps moving forward,” Pruitt said during his Monday press conference. Pruitt was also complimentary of 3rd-stringer Brian Maurer. As for Jarrett Guarantano, it feels like Tennessee has finally moved on from him. But no matter what, this is a QB quandary that doesn’t appear to have a solution.

Each quarterback will lean on running back Eric Gray, who has racked up 698 rushing yards this season. Remember, last year he ran wild against the Commodores, with 246 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns.

Vanderbilt’s offense is somehow worse than Tennessee’s, ranked 108th nationally. It looked like they had some signs of life with true freshman Ken Seals at quarterback, but his lowly 79 yards passing in a 41-0 shutout loss to Missouri brought the ‘Dores back to reality.

The difference in this game will be defense. Tennessee is average, ranked 67th in the country. But Vanderbilt is downright dreadful. It has allowed an average of 480 yards a game and given up 38 touchdowns. The ‘Dores can’t stop anyone, allowing at least 38 points in a game 6 times this season.

Whether it’s Bailey, Shrout, Maurer (or even Guarantano) at quarterback for the Vols, they couldn’t ask for a more enticing matchup.

Will this be an aesthetically pleasing game? No. No it will not. But the finished product will be pleasing for Vols fans, as Tennessee picks up a victory for the first time in over 2 months and beats Vandy for the 2nd consecutive year.

Fearless Prediction time …

Tennessee 24, Vanderbilt 13

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Fearless Prediction: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt - Dec. 2020