Tennessee football: 5 takeaways from Vols awful performance with bowl game on the line

Tennessee football gets embarrassed for the second straight game. Only this time it was to their in-state rivals, the Vanderbilt Commodores. Here are five takeaways from the game.

You can chalk it down, that was the worst half of football the Tennessee football team played all season. Yes, it was even worse than what happened against Florida considering this game was to become bowl eligible.

Tennessee only gained 85 yards in the first half, and as bad as the offense was the defense was just as bad if not worse. What was so depressing about the outcome of the game was it appeared some of the players didn’t even try.

There really isn’t much else to say. Vanderbilt was just better in every part of the game. Here are a few takeaways from the game.

1. Kyle Shurmur owns the Vols

I’m here to give credit where credit is due even though Tennessee’s defense was absolutely horrendous. Kyle Shurmur looked like an NFL quarterback. The senior loves playing the Vols, and he showed us again just why that is.

Shurmur hit on his first 15 passes and finished with only four incompletions. He finished with 367 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. This was Shurmur’s best performance against the Vols despite always playing well against them. If you’re looking ahead to next season, thank the College Football Gods Shurmur is graduating.

2. Vanderbilt owns Tennessee

We talked about it coming into the game, Vanderbilt owns Tennessee. The win marks the first time since the 1920s that Vandy won three straight games. Since the 1920s, I can’t even believe that. Furthermore, Vanderbilt has won five of the past seven games. As much as it sucks to hear Vol fans, the Commodores own the Vols right now. This was the largest margin of defeat since the 1954 season.

3. Butch Jones’ players got to go

There are a lot of players that didn’t show up. There were a lot of players that just didn’t care. Those were Butch Jones’ players, and they do not need to put back on a Tennessee jersey.

Tennessee was down 38-13 and players were dancing on the sideline like they were the ones up big in the game. There were players not paying attention to any of the coaches as they were conducting position group meetings.

4. Vols need some players on the line of scrimmage

Game after game, Tennessee was bullied on the line of scrimmage. The defensive line got close to zero pressure which makes the secondary look like trash. The offensive line only played one good game this entire season.

Games in the SEC are won in the trenches. Sure it’s nice to have great players like Tua Tagovailoa and the stud running backs Georiga always seems to have, but without an offensive line, those players wouldn’t look as good.

5. Horrible ending to a mediocre year

Six of the seven losses this season were by 20 points or more. Tennessee was competitive all season long, which is hard to believe with a new coach running the show. It’s not like the 5-7 record is stunning, most people thought this would be the outcome. It’s how it happened.

It reminds me of the 2016 season, who cares if you beat Florida and Georiga if you can’t beat Vanderbilt. Same applies this season, the Vols caught Auburn sleeping and got a big win but then get utterly embarrassed by Missouri and Vanderbilt to end the season.

Jeremy Pruitt has a long offseason ahead of him. It doesn’t get any easier because it feels like the Vols fall behind with each and every loss. One thing is for sure, a couple of more losses to Vanderbilt would shake up the Tennessee football program again.