A quick look at Stubhub and SeatGeek Wednesday was all you needed to see just how big this Tennessee-Vanderbilt game is. Prices were soaring into the $250 range on the low end, and on ticketmaster, they were reportedly starting at over $300.
This isn’t due to some random inflation numbers or antitrust violations that have led to high prices for events the past few years. It’s also not due to some big game. Sure, this is a rivalry, but Tennessee leads the all-time series 78-32-5.
What’s causing it is a combination of three things: Vanderbilt Stadium has fewer seats this year due to construction, Vandy fans are more enthused than usual because of their 6-5 record and more willing to buy tickets, and Tennessee fans are playing with a chance to reach the CFP. Also, Nashville is Vol country.
Simply put, Tennessee and Vanderbilt fans are fighting harder for tickets this year with fewer seats available.
The Vols have played Vandy every year since the SEC began, and this is going to be the biggest one for them in the modern era. Sure, in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s the game was big. They met Vandy plenty of times when Vandy had a winning record and there was a championship on the line for them.
However, post-integration, Saturday marks the first time Tennessee will play Vanderbilt in which the game has championship implications for the Vols AND Vandy has a winning record. That it’s at the Commodores only makes the game more challenging…and intriguing.
For UT, the goal is simple. Beat Vanderbilt, and they are in the College Football Playoff.
When we say championship implications, we mean the chance to win the old East, a chance to win the SEC or a chance to play for the national championship. Now, in this new era, it’s a chance to go to the CFP, but that’s still a big thing, and that spikes the magnitude of this.
Considering the fact that seven ranked SEC teams have lost road games to unranked SEC teams this year, a record, and that three of them happened just last week, UT is likely taking this even more seriously. It goes even deeper than that.
Tennessee is one of those seven ranked SEC teams, having lost on the road to the Arkansas Razorbacks. Vanderbilt is one of those seven unranked SEC teams, having beaten the Alabama Crimson Tide at home. They would love nothing more than to do it again against the Vols.
On the other side, the Vols are obviously determined to avoid it for their CFP hopes, and Vol fans are trying to do their part by keeping this a home game for their team. That’s why you have the high prices, and it’s what makes this the biggest Tennessee-Vanderbilt game of the modern era.
