All for Tennessee
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Tennessee football in top half of SEC Power Rankings after Week 4

By Caleb Calhoun

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 26: Defensive back Doneiko Slaughter #18 and defensive back Trevon Flowers #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers tackle wide receiver Shi Smith #13 of the South Carolina Gamecocks as defensive back Bryce Thompson #0 and defensive lineman LaTrell Bumphus #88 of the Tennessee Volunteers look on during the football game at Williams-Brice Stadium on September 26, 2020 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 26: Defensive back Doneiko Slaughter #18 and defensive back Trevon Flowers #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers tackle wide receiver Shi Smith #13 of the South Carolina Gamecocks as defensive back Bryce Thompson #0 and defensive lineman LaTrell Bumphus #88 of the Tennessee Volunteers look on during the football game at Williams-Brice Stadium on September 26, 2020 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images /

. Commodores . 9. team. 887. . 0-1

Lost to Texas A&M Aggies 17-12

And just like that, Derek Mason may have generated a bit more momentum for his Vanderbilt Commodores. His defense finally looked the way he wanted it to, seven years into the job, and held one of the SEC’s best quarterbacks to under 200 yards and just one touchdown. Holding an experienced Jimbo Fisher offense to under 400 while also forcing three fumbles is impressive.

However, Mason still doesn’t have an offense of his own. Vandy struggled all night against A&M’s defense with Ken Seals at quarterback, only generating 255 yards of total offense. They did take care of the ball, to be fair, which is why this game was close to begin with, but if their offense looks like that the whole year, it’s a major problem.

On top of that, Mason had a grave coaching mistake by committing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of the game to let Texas A&M run out the clock. If he’s going to have a team built on defense and discipline, he can’t be the one to make the mistake as a guy who should now be a veteran coach in the league.

As a result, there are still concerns about Mason. Beating Tennessee football three times in a row when the Vols were at their worst can only take him so far. However, there are some winnable games coming up early with the South Carolina Gamecocks, Missouri Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels back to back to back in October. First, though, they have to face the next team in these rankings.

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