Tennessee football at Vanderbilt: 10 keys for Vols and Commodores

Tennessee football’s postseason chances come down to a trip to Nashville against Vanderbilt. Here are 10 keys to the game for the Volunteers and Commodores.

For the first time in many of our lives, Tennessee football will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores in a game that has postseason implications for both teams. Seriously, when was the last time these two teams met and both had something to play for?

It’s been a while. The closest they came to this was back in 2005, but Vanderbilt had suffered shocking losses to the Kentucky Wildcats and MTSU Blue Raiders before facing the Vols, which ended any chance of Jay Cutler reaching a bowl game in his college career.

This year, though, both teams are 5-6 heading into their regular season finale. A win for Vanderbilt almost certainly means Derek Mason keeps his job, while a loss puts things up in the air. Meanwhile, a win for Tennessee football is a huge boost for the program in its first year under Jeremy Pruitt.

So yes, there’s a lot here at stake for both teams in terms of how to define their program. They also come into the game off of a week of very different moods. Vanderbilt scored an amazing victory over the Ole Miss Rebels to keep their bowl hopes alive, killing Ole Miss’s.

The Vols, however, suffered a deflating 50-17 loss to the Missouri Tigers that had fans questioning them once again since it was a week after a huge win over the Kentucky Wildcats. Which team shows up Saturday?

As we get set to break down the most crucial factors in determining the outcome of the game, we’ll be helping to figure out which UT team shows up. It’s clear that these guys have been inconsistent all year, but that depends on the play of other teams as much as the Vols.

And with one game left in the regular season, let’s go ahead and see what will be significant to the result of Saturday’s match-up. These are the 10 keys for the Vols and Commodores when Tennessee football faces Vanderbilt Saturday.