Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee final score: Vols hit historic futility with loss to Commodores

The Tennessee Volunteers are winless in SEC play for the first time in program history. The Vols’ 42-24 loss to their in-state rivals, the Vanderbilt Commodores, assured them of a feat they’d never achieved before, and will hope to never achieve again.

This disaster of a season finally came to a halt at Neyland Stadium on Saturday night. Vandy carved them up for 529 total offensive yards, 246 on the ground and 283 through the air, as Tennessee could only muster up 238 of their own. The ‘Dores had 33 first downs to the Vols’ 15, 74 offensive plays to their opponent’s 43, and ate up TOP with 38:15 to 21:45 for their foe.

The Commodores’ victory assures them of an SEC victory, but their 5-7 record means they won’t be going bowling this season. It stops the bleeding after a 3-0 start to the season, as they went on to lose seven of the next nine. Tennessee, meanwhile, started out 3-1, but went on to lose seven of their next eight.

There’s not much to take away from this game, other than both teams finally ending their misery. The Vols will have a new head coach next season, and whomever that will be will hope to put this dark season behind them. For Vandy, on the other hand, they certainly took a step back from last year’s successful campaign. Hopefully, for Derek Mason, this was just a blip and not a sign of things to come.