Better Know an SEC Opponent: THEM

The School: “University” of Tennessee

Record: 8-3 (4-3 in the SEC)

Ranking: 19th in CFP Rankings, 18th in AP, and 18th in Coaches’ Poll. SP+ also has THEM at 14th.

Mascot: Smokey, both a mascot and live Bluetick Coonhound. It has been a bad run for the hounds as Smokey XI was just announced as retired due to temperament issues adjusting to the noise inside Neyland Stadium. Smokey X, Xi’s father, was also diagnosed with cancer in October. It is absolutely animal abuse to put the pup in front of those fans. They deserve better lives.

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

Coach: Josh Heupel. Heupel is 45-18 (24-15) in 4 seasons, including 2025, at the helm in Knoxville. He got Tennessee to the CFP last season where they were promptly throttled by Ohio State.  Heupel has brought the offense to Knoxville with only 1 of the 4 seasons outside of the Top 15 in scoring. The Vols are 4th in scoring this season. They are 85th in points allowed though.

Conference: The S-E-C. A real member since the start unfortunately.

All-time vs. Vanderbilt: 79-33-5

In the Last 10 Years vs. Vanderbilt: 5-3. Two Tennessee wins (2019 and 2020) were vacated for a scandal involving Jeremy Pruitt and cash in McDonald’s bags.

In the Last 5 Years vs. Vanderbilt: 4-0. See above about 2020.

The Last Time We Saw These Guys: Vanderbilt jumped out to an early 14-0 lead when Junior Sherrill returned the opening kickoff for a TD then CJ Taylor knocked the ball out of Dylan Sampson’s hands to setup a short touchdown drive.

Tennessee would answer but a Brock Taylor FG got the lead back out to 10. Vanderbilt had a chance to really extend the lead after forcing a turnover on downs just inside Tennessee. The chance was squandered when Pavia threw an interception, but the defense picked Nico Iamaleava off on the very next play on a deep pass that functioned as a first down punt. The Commodores could not capitalize as they would also turn it over on downs near midfield.

Tennesse would score on their next 3 drives. The FG, TD, andTD would give them a 7-point lead at halftime.  They opened the second half with another TD then would force a safety just before the 3rd quarter ended followed by a FG. Vanderbilt finally got on the board, but it was not nearly enough as the contest ended there. The 36-23 finalwas a real disappointment after how the game started and surely left a bad taste in the returning players’ mouths.

Is Vandy Favored?: Nope. Vanderbilt is a 2.5-point underdog as of writing. The O/U is also 65.5, so Vegas is expecting both teams in the 30s in a tight affair.

Most Potent Offensive Threat: DeSean Bishop. I could have said Joey Aguilar, who has thrown for 3,145 yards by completing 229 of his 342 attempts with 23 TDs and 10 INTs, or Chris Brazzell II, who has 926 receiving yards and 8 TDs from 56 receptions. Bishop’s ground threat is what really opens up the passing attack though. His 6.2 yards per carry average has turned 143 carries into 886 rushing yards and 12 TDs. He also has a very competent backup in Star Thomas. Thomas has added 529 yards on 94 carries and  more TDs. The Volunteers are loaded with offensive threats.

Most Potent Defensive Threat: Adrees Farooq. As a starting safety, Farooq ranks 4th in total tackles and 2nd in solo tackles. The reason I really chose him as their biggest threat on defense is that he has forced 3 fumbles, recovered 1 fumble, and picked off a pass. Tennessee’s defense is not stout, so the havoc plays will be how they try to disrupt Vanderbilt’s prolific offense. Of note, four Tennessee defensive linemen have 4 or more sacks with Dominic Bailey leading the pack at 5.5 sacks.

Matchup to Watch: Offense vs Offense. Vanderbilt’s defense has looked stout at times, but this game could really come down to which offense blinks first.  There will be some stops. The key will be not getting stopped consecutive times or making compounding mistakes. Like last year’s game, the defenses showed up to either turn the ball back over or get a stop of their own. Neither offense can afford to make the defense do that multiple times in a row or to put them in bad field positions situations repeatedly.

Interesting Fact: Tennessee has never had a Heisman trophy winner.

If Tennessee wins, we: get ready for the Outback or ReliaQuest (formerly Outback) Bowls. At 9-3, the CFP hopes would be totally dead. The record should be enough to avoid the Music City Bowl or that tier, even if technically everything beyond the Citrus Bowl, which will take the highest ranked non-CFP SEC team.