Tennessee’s win against Vanderbilt was an ugly, chippy affair. It’s a good thing the Vols have other things to look forward to.
The Commodores were no match for a team that has been through the washer this season with tough losses and tougher luck in the injury department. Tennessee beat Vandy 48-24 to finish the regular season 8-4 in front of a lackluster crowd in a game that had more shoving than a grunge rock mosh pit.
There were reminders throughout the Vandy game that were eerily reminiscent of what undermined the Vols this season, such as errant and dropped passes, as well as missed defensive assignments and blown pass coverages. There was even an injury to center Cooper Mays in the first quarter that put him on the bench. All were persistent leaks in the dam that doomed the Vols to a mediocre 8-4 record this season instead of matching Tennessee’s 10-2 record in 2022.
Beating Vanderbilt really wasn’t even the top Tennessee football story of the weekend. Let’s be frank. The news that Mays could return for his final season of eligibility in 2024 caused more of a stir than the Vols win over Vandy. Freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s entrance into the game was more exciting than the first three quarters, in which he didn’t play.
If you sold your tickets to the Vanderbilt game or stayed at home to surrender to Thanksgiving leftovers, that’s understandable. There wasn’t much to play for other than pride for the Vols, but that was enough to keep the game from ever being a contest.
The Tennessee-Vanderbilt game has long been a bore in November. That won’t likely be the case for Tennessee any longer when the postseason expands to 12 teams next season. As long as the Vols can come close to nine wins per season, they’ll be in the conversation to make the College Football Playoff. A tired tradition may soon be retired.
Had the Florida loss not happened, Tennessee might have been playing for a playoff berth against the Commodores on Saturday instead of walking through a game and over an outmatched opponent. There are, indeed, more exciting days ahead for Tennessee football.
Those days are almost guaranteed to include quarterback Iamaleava, who oozes talent and could be championship worthy even if he never reaches his full potential. Iamaleava completed 9 of 12 passes for 66 yards. Fair or not, Tennessee’s fans will give Iamaleava much more slack next season than they ever gave Joe Milton III, who completed 22 of 32 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns and ran for two more scores against the Commodores. Milton became the unfair center of criticism far too often by fans who had determined that he was not SEC-championship worthy in September. Those fans were never going to be convinced otherwise.
Milton entered the Vandy game as the eighth highest rated passer in the SEC. That wasn’t all his fault, but can’t the Vols be more efficient in the passing game with Iamaleava?
There are certainly concerns as Tennessee coach Josh Heupel wraps up his third regular season as the Vols’ head coach. Talent evaluation, some dud road games and some questionable roster decisions top the list. Those concerns are understandable. So is the pervasive optimism about the program. The Vols have plenty to look forward to.
