"The last time Vanderbilt came out on top on the road against its rivals, things were a bit different around both programs. Unsurprisingly, Tennessee was in the midst of an atrocious conference campaign. The Volunteers were also on the verge of one of the most memorable coaching carousel moments in recent memory. In Nashville, however, the script was flipped. The Commodores were in the middle of their best stretch in the rivalry in decades, as well as their strongest stretch under then-head coach Derek Mason."
"Remembering that 2017 game offers a fascinating lens into the progress of both programs now -- showing how far Tennessee has climbed since the depths of its late-2010s nadir, as well as how high Vanderbilt's ceiling has been raised compared to previous high-water marks for the program. With the two teams set to meet on Saturday at Neyland Stadium, we looked back at what things were like eight years prior."
"Not all lost seasons are created equally. Tennessee's 2017 campaign was about as ugly as things can get for a team that entered the season with a preseason ranking to its name. Things started out in chaotic, if victorious, fashion as the Volunteers survived an overtime thriller against Georgia Tech in Week 1. A mid-September loss to Florida marked a first SEC defeat, but things got even more concerning a week later when Tennessee couldn't pull away from Massachusetts. Things would only spiral from there."
This Saturday Vanderbilt (9-2), led by coach Clark Lea and quarterback Diego Pavia, will travel to Neyland Stadium with a chance to end two streaks. A win would be the program's first victory in Knoxville since 2017 and would produce the first 10-win season in school history. Tennessee's 2017 campaign saw a fall from a preseason ranking into conference struggles, including an overtime win over Georgia Tech, a mid-September loss to Florida and a narrow escape against Massachusetts before results deteriorated. The 2017 matchup reflected a period when Vanderbilt reached its strongest rivalry stretch under then-head coach Derek Mason while Tennessee hovered near a program nadir.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]