Vandy can erase entire season with win over Tennessee
Vanderbilt’s first season under head coach Derek Mason will end with a losing record. The Commodores struggled in Week 1, falling 37-7 to Temple, and faced depth concerns through all 11 games. But fans will be satisfied if Mason manages a win this weekend.
Related: What does the Tennessee-Vanderbilt rivalry mean?
Vanderbilt hosts Tennessee in its final game on Saturday. Despite entering with a 3-8 (0-7 SEC) record, the Commodores could end their season on a high note with an upset of their biggest rival and spoiling its bowl chances.
In the past three years, Vanderbilt has posed as a threat to Tennessee in the annual rivalry. Former head coach James Franklin led the Commodores to their most successful run of the modern era, making three consecutive bowl game appearances, before leaving for Penn State this offseason.
But Vanderbilt’s biggest accomplishment is its back-to-back wins over the Vols the past two seasons, a feat accomplished for the first time since 1926. Though first-year coach Derek Mason is referring to his opponent as “the team out east,” the Commodores are well aware of Tennessee.
Vanderbilt senior center Joe Townsend, a native of the Nashville-area suburb Hendersonville, knows the differing perceptions of both programs in the Volunteer State.
“It’s the state of Tennessee,” Townsend said. This is a private institution. We’re Vanderbilt, we’re our own. It doesn’t really bother me. Just like when you go anywhere else, it’s the state school so I would expect to see that everywhere.”
While the Vols see the majority of fan support throughout the state, the Commodores have the meager share in comparison, even in their home city. A New York Times college football fan map reported that Tennessee fans outnumber Vanderbilt fans 22.3 percent to 21.3 percent in Davidson County, which includes Nashville and surrounding areas.
The Vols– whose campus is an estimate drive of under three hours away– tend to see large turnouts in fan support when they visit Nashville every other year. But to the fans who support the Commodores, no team is hated more than Tennessee.
The sentiments are shared by the players, including longsnapper Andrew East, who said he refers to the University of Tennessee as “ugly orange,” during Vanderbilt’s Monday press conference. Quarterback Johnny McCrary had similar feelings.
“They’re just some guys out east,” McCrary said. “Obviously they don’t like us, we don’t like them. We just go out here like it’s a normal game as players, but we are aware of the rivalry as well. We just want to go out there and keep the winning streak going.”
For Vanderbilt, a win Saturday would mean more to its fans than any other game on its schedule. The Commodores can call this “just another game,” but its more than that. The Tennessee matchup is a chance for Vanderbilt to shed its perception as the “little brother” program in its home state. Its bragging rights for a fan base that has little to argue over the years.
There’s nothing Commodores fans would enjoy more than preventing the Vols from earning bowl eligibility. Mason can end his season on a high note with a win over Tennessee and bring optimism to his program entering year two.