If Jeremy Pruitt wants to prove his Tennessee program is going to be different than his predecessors’, he needs to show that his Volunteer program is superior to Vanderbilt. While no sane Tennessee fans will completely lose faith in Pruitt if his team can’t get it done on Saturday, losses to the Commodores have doomed both Volunteer coaches that came before him.

If the first-year coach can win this game on the road, there’s an outstanding chance his Tennessee program never loses to Vanderbilt, which is the expectation on Rocky Top. While that may be what Vol Nation demands, it should be noted that the betting odds suggest differently.

Heading into Saturday’s game in Nashville, Tennessee has opened as a 3.5-point underdog to Vanderbilt, according to Vegas Insider. The Commodores have won the previous two matchups and will be looking to win their third consecutive in the annual series for the first time since the 1920s.

This point spread debuted a day late as the status of Tennessee’s starting quarterback, Jarrett Guarantano, was up in the air on Sunday. During his Monday morning press conference, Pruitt listed Guarantano as day-to-day heading into the Vanderbilt game.