Tennessee suffered a rout at home by Vanderbilt in a game that featured a tight first half with strong defensive adjustments, resulting in a 21-21 tie. However, disaster struck in the second half as the Commodores scored 24 unanswered points in the final two quarters to win the game and crush the Volunteers’ faint playoff hopes.
In reality, not much hope remained for Tennessee even if they had won the game against Vanderbilt; their path to the postseason was already highly improbable and are now practically eliminated, closing their regular season with an 8-4 record.
Josh Jarnagin wrote in his article for WVLT following the defeat: “Tennessee was likely too far behind at No. 19 to get a playoff spot with a win on Saturday,” making it obvious that despite a win, they were not going to make it into the playoffs.
Tough season for Tennessee
Following the loss against Vanderbilt, Coach Josh Heupel was candid in admitting that the final game of the regular season, especially the second half, was poor for his team. “An extremely disappointing second half led to an extremely disappointing ultimate result,” Heupel said.
The coach was particularly harsh on his team’s defense, which allowed Vanderbilt too many rushing yards, notably from quarterback Diego Pavia, who racked up 165 rushing yards and a touchdown. “The (defensive) performance here tonight was not anywhere near the standard for Tennessee football.”
Last season was a strong year for Tennessee, with a 10-3 record signaling that 2025 might also finish with ten or more victories. However, from 2020 until today, the Volunteers have achieved only two seasons with 10+ wins (the other being in 2022).