There are numerous hotly contested matchups in the SEC: Florida-Florida State, Clemson-South Carolina, Georgia-Georgia Tech, the Iron Bowl, the Egg Bowl. Coach and player legacies have been forged in these games. But what does Tennessee get? The Vols play annual SEC bottom-dweller Vanderbilt.
Let’s be honest: The game does little for the Volunteers’ program or the fan base. The Vols and their fans deserve a better opponent to finish the season. Just because teams share a state doesn’t make for a true rivalry.
Since 1975, the Commodores have beaten the Vols just five times. In that stretch, they have won back-to-back games against Tennessee once, 2012-13, and that was during one of the Vols’ worst stretches in their football history.