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Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols win 28-10 win vs. Vanderbilt

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 30: Eric Gray #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates running a ninety-four yard touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second quarter at Neyland Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 30: Eric Gray #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates running a ninety-four yard touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second quarter at Neyland Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images
Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images /

5. Mental toughness proved itself again.

Say what you want, but this Tennessee football team is mentally tough. The Vols finished the year 5-3 in the SEC, and in four of those conference wins, they trailed at one point. Once again, they fell behind 3-0 here, and after three straight offensive possessions early with no score, you had to wonder if they were going to figure out a way to blow it.

But this is the team that came back from 13-0 down to beat the Kentucky Wildcats 17-13, the team that lit up the South Carolina Gamecocks early in the fourth quarter, the team that held off the Missouri Tigers for three defensive stands in the fourth and the team that did not let the Mississippi State Bulldogs come back. So the culture changed with these guys.

It showed again in this game. The Vols didn’t just reel off three touchdowns in the first half after struggling to get things going. They also made sure that Vanderbilt never got close after threatening in the second half. When the Commodores cut it to 21-10 with a 90-yard touchdown drive, concern arose again.

How did the Vols respond? They had their own long drive, and a passing game that struggled all night managed to find both Marquez Callaway and Jauan Jennings. There was only one catch between the two of them in this game before that drive. But that speaks to how this team now responds to adversity. And Jeremy Pruitt deserves lots of credit for developing that culture.

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