Tennessee Vols at Vanderbilt The 25th-ranked Vols have some work to do as they prepare to host skidding Vanderbilt
In Knoxville, Tennessee, the No. 25 Volunteers (25-3) have two things to accomplish in their final regular-season game against Vanderbilt (10-6). The first is to avoid a three-in-a-row losing streak for the first time in Coach Josh Heupel’s tenure. The second is to extend the Volunteers’ winning streak over the Commodores to five games in the in-state rivalry. Heupel said, “This is a huge game for Vanderbilt and a huge game for us, and we need to finish it off.”
Vanderbilt is coming off a bye week and should be a little fresher as it tries to end its nine-game losing streak in the season finale. The Commodores will be looking for their first win in SEC play against a team that matters to coach Clark Lea (Nashville native).
“We haven’t had that breakthrough moment yet this season, but we’ll see if that can happen in Knoxville,” Lea said.”
“NICO TIME.”
Tennessee will need to score at least as many points as it did in the combined 17 it gave up to Missouri and No. 1 Georgia in its last two games. That was the lowest point total the Volunteers have allowed in two games since 2017, when they were held to nine points by South Carolina and Georgia.
Tennessee coaches have been keeping a close eye on freshman quarterback Nik Iamaleava’s playing time. If Iamaleava plays against Vandy on Saturday, it will be his fourth start this season, which would qualify him for a redshirt year if starter Joe Milton III does not play in the bowl. Bowl games do not count against this eligibility.
Lea declined to say who will start for Vanderbilt, which lost 47-6 at South Carolina on Tuesday. Ken Seals or the sophomore Walter Taylor is listed as the starting quarterback on the depth chart. Seals has been more responsible with the ball than Swann, who started all of Vandy’s games this season. Seals has averaged 124.7 yards per game with 10 touchdowns and only four picks. Taylor has attempted just 15 passes and Swann is dealing with a sprained elbow.
“We haven’t been happy with the production from the quarterback position,” Lea said.
The Vols’ offensive line is expected to be back to full strength for Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt after two key offensive starters, John Campbell Jr. (2nd-team All-SEC) and Gerald Mendoza (3rd), were out against Georgia with injuries. The same can’t be said for right guard, Spraggins, who Heupel announced would be out for the remainder of the regular season and the bowl due to a “lower-body injury.”
“He’s a guy who puts a lot of effort into his teammates,” Heupel added. “He’s got great energy, and he plays really hard.”
The Vols have the nation’s 11th-ranked rushing offense, led by junior Jaylen Wright (1,000 yards). Heading into Saturday’s game, Wright needs just 62 yards to become the first Vols running back to reach that mark since Hurd (1,003 yards in 2015). Wright has an FBS-level of patience, vision, and home-
Langston Patterson, a Vanderbilt linebacker, grew up in Nashville and hated Tennessee. It wasn’t because he was a Commodore or a Vol. It was a family tradition. “My dad played football at Alabama so we never really liked the Vols at home,” he said.
