It was “win or go home” for the Vols on Saturday afternoon in Nashville.
They didn’t win. Now they have to go home.
Vanderbilt defeated Tennessee by a score of 38-13 on Saturday . It marked the third straight time that the Commodores have beaten the Vols, and it gives Vanderbilt five wins in the last seven meetings between the two schools.
The Vols were soundly beaten in the first half, and Vanderbilt had all the momentum. Tennessee trailed 17-0 after one half of play, and they were out-gained 201 yards to 85 yards. Quarterback Kyle Shurmur was nearly perfect in the first half, completing 15 of his 16 passes, and Tennessee averaged just 3.3 yards a play on offense.
Tennessee came out in the second half and immediately struck gold. The first play of the half went for 75 yards as Ty Chandler found the edge and outran Vanderbilt’s defense.
But that was about it for the Vols.
The Commodores gave Tennessee more life after they missed a 20-yard field goal with the score still 17-7, but the Vols couldn’t take advantage once again.
Aside from that big run from Chandler, it was all Vanderbilt on Saturday. Tennessee tacked on a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but it mattered little.
Here are our five biggest takeaways from Tennessee’s embarrassing 38-13 loss to Vanderbilt.
Shurmur Torches Vols Again
Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur entered Saturday’s game with an impressive stat line against Tennessee in his collegiate career. And he finished his final regular season with the Commodores with one of the most impressive performances of his career.
Shurmur started the game completing 15 consecutive passes before one of his passes finally wasn’t caught. He didn’t have very many incompletions after that one, either.
The senior QB finished the game 31-of-35 for 367 yards and three touchdowns. His 367 yards are the second-most he’s ever thrown in a game in his career, and it marks the third time in four games against Tennessee that he’s thrown for over 280 yards.
Shurmur finishes his career 3-1 against Tennessee as Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback.
Mind-Boggling Play-Calling
Tennessee’s offense looked the worst it has all season against Vanderbilt, and this wasn’t a good Commodores defense like in years past.
Aside from Chandler’s 75-yard run to start the second half, the Vols’ offense was abysmal. Taking out that run, Tennessee managed a paltry 107 yards on 39 plays before they put together a drive essentially in garbage time in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt came into Saturday’s game allowing 436 yards a game to opponents and giving up over 26 points a contest.
The Vols finished with 242 yards of offense on 47 total plays.
A lot of the struggles for the Vols’ offense came from the play-calling and not just the lack of execution from the players on the field. Chandler had that 75-yard touchdown run, and then Tim Jordan picked up 19 yards on a run on the Vols’ next play on offense.
But then offensive coordinator Tyson Helton called three straight pass plays, and Tennessee ended up punting.
That wasn’t the only series that Helton’s play-calling looked questionable either. Tennessee got very little done on offense, and it wasn’t because of a terrible effort by the offensive line this time either.
The Vols picked up just 12 first downs in the game while the Commodores got 29 when they were on offense.
Jarrett Guarantano had one of the worst games of his Tennessee career on Saturday. He completed just 13 of his 29 passes for 139 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He looked out of sorts and out of rhythm for a lot of the game.
Mason Owns the Vols?
Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason became the first Commodore head coach since Dan McGugin to win three games against Tennessee as head coach of Vanderbilt.
Mason now improves to 3-2 against Tennessee in his five seasons as Vanderbilt’s head coach. McGugin coached for Vanderbilt from 1904-1917 then again from 1919 to 1934. He’s Vanderbilt’s all-time winningest head coach with a 198-55-19 record.
How Far They’ve Fallen
For the first time since the 1920s, Vanderbilt has defeated Tennessee three consecutive times in football.
The win for the Commodores marks their fifth win over Tennessee in the last seven meetings between the two schools, and it also gave Vanderbilt enough wins to automatically qualify for a bowl game.
The loss put Tennessee in last place of the SEC East for the second straight year, marking the first time in program history that they’ve finished in the basement of the division in back-to-back seasons.
Tennessee hasn’t beaten Vanderbilt in Nashville since 2014.
Let the Offseason Begin
The Vols failed to automatically qualify for a bowl game, and their hopes of getting a bowl berth with a 5-7 record and a good APR score are also out the window.
Enough teams earned their sixth win of the season, meaning there will be no 5-7 teams earning a bowl bid this offseason. Tennessee will be spending this offseason at home and not in a bowl game for the second straight year.
Vol fans can now focus on recruiting and hoping, again, that things can improve with another offseason.
