Tennessee took on the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, and the Vols walked away with a 24-point win. There were tons of things that went good and bad, and there were some things that got ugly. I’m here to break down each category of the Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee game.
THE GOOD: PASSING OFFENSE There were many good things about this game for the Volunteers. It starts with veteran quarterback Joe Milton III. Milton put together the most impressive college performance of his career, tallying six total touchdowns, of which four were passing and two were rushing, and he was pulled in the second half. He went 22-32 for 382 passing yards and accounted for six touchdowns. Wide receiver Ramel Keyton had four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Nico Iamaleava will also fall into this category as he received playing time and did not let the Volunteer fans down, as he went 9-12 for 66 yards with two rushes for 15 yards in his short-lived outing.
THE BAD: INJURIES There wasn’t much bad, but there were a few things to highlight. The rushing offense ground to a halt midway through the second quarter, though they regained their footing to ice the game. Another bad would be Cooper Mays getting injured early on and not returning to action. After he went down, the Vols turned to Ollie Lane, who put up a solid showcase, as did the rest of the line throughout the night.
THE UGLY: EXTRACURRICULARS This category is clear as day. The altercation near the end of the half was ugly, as you saw multiple Tennessee guys get flags for unsportsmanlike conduct. You even saw some punches thrown. Another thing was the officiating. The officials did not help de-escalate this situation, as the Volunteers and the Commodores were at each other’s necks all night. Many questionable decisions led to Tennessee hitting Vanderbilt quarterback AJ Swann late. The penalties didn’t help Tennessee, who surrendered over 100 free yards to Vandy.
