Tennessee football: 5 Vanderbilt Commodores to watch vs. Vols

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When you talk about usual suspects, there’s no more usual suspect than Kyle Shurmur. The senior quarterback has started three games against Tennessee football and has an amazing 2-1 record, potentially finishing his career 3-1 against the Vols if he leads his team to victory Saturday.

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Shurmur has always thrived against the Vols. Even in his first year, a loss, he managed three passing touchdowns. But the explosion came the next year. Joshua Dobbs was playing flawlessly, leading the Vols to victory with a chance to reach a New Year’s Six bowl game.

However, Shurmur was able to go toe-to-toe with him, and the Vols’ offense eventually folded while Shumur threw for over 400 yards. The result was a huge upset win and a bowl berth since it was their sixth victory of the season.

Last year, the Vols and Commodores competed to avoid last place in the SEC and a winless conference season, and Shurmur delivered again with four touchdowns. Simply put, he always comes through against Tennessee football.

Now, the stakes for Vanderbilt are identical to what they were in 2016. A win gets them to a bowl game. This time, though, the Vols are playing to reach a bowl game as well. So what’s Vanderbilt’s four-year starter going to do in his final home game?

Next. 5 Vols to watch for at Vanderbilt. dark

With nearly 2,500 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions on the year, Shurmur is the perfect guy to orchestrate the balance in Vanderbilt’s offense. He has a chance to play pro ball, and the Vols have to find a way to wreak as much havoc on him as possible. You can bet that if Vanderbilt does win, Shurmur will probably be the player of the game.

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