Head coach Clark Lea didn’t mince words when asked about what the Vanderbilt-Tennessee rivalry means to him this afternoon. He’s not just Vanderbilt Football’s coach: He’s an alumnus of the university and a Nashville native.
“The unique thing about this game is that it’s like, extremely personal to me, right? Because I grew up in this city. I grew up following this program. I played in this program,” Lea said. “[I] understand — and again, the meaning of this game cuts deep to us — that my job is to communicate how important it is, as a member of this football program, that we prepare in a way and show up in a way that represents and reflects the pride of Vanderbilt.”
2024 has been a season to remember for the Commodores — who knocked off former No. 1 Alabama at FirstBank Stadium while picking up SEC road wins against Kentucky and Auburn. Lea isn’t worried about any of that, though. He’s focused on getting his team to the finish line.
“We’re excited about [this game],” Lea said. “We have to go through our process, but we’ll be ready at 11 a.m. and excited to compete.”
Vanderbilt’s recent struggles against the Volunteers are no secret: The ‘Dores have lost five straight games at the hands of their in-state rival by an average of 29.4 points. Since taking over in 2021, Lea’s been bested 45-21, 56-0 and 48-24.
“I’ve been sick to my stomach the last three years, whether it’s leaving Knoxville or leaving our stadium here,” Lea said. “It doesn’t sit well.”
Lea wants a win more than anybody else, but he knows that wanting isn’t the same as doing.
“We can talk all we want; we need to perform better,” Lea said. “We need to close the gap on the field, and that’s the challenge we have. This is a really good Tennessee team that’s coming to play us.”
This year, the energy surrounding the matchup is a little different for both programs. Vanderbilt is in the midst of its best season since 2018 — with a chance to win seven games for the first time since 2013. This is Lea’s best team yet.
“I think our lack of success in the past has had to do with the level of play within our program,” Lea said. “I think we’re better positioned now than we were — than we have been — through the efforts in recruiting and retaining and then, obviously, the transfer portal.”
It’s also Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel’s best team yet. The Volunteers are 9-2 and boast one of the best offenses and defenses in the SEC: Their yards per game (456.6) ranks third in the conference, and their yards allowed per game (284) ranks second. A win over the Commodores this weekend would almost certainly vault the Volunteers into the College Football Playoff. They’re a fundamental group, and Lea knows that.
“You cannot mess around against this team,” Lea said. “We cannot afford to make those [same] mistakes [as past games] against this team on Saturday, and the kids know that. We’ll put every ounce of our energy into the preparation of it, but it’s going to be about executing it on Saturday.”
Perhaps more important than anything for Vanderbilt this season has been staying healthy, and while it used the bye week to rest and recover, it’s still banged up. One player stands out among the rest of the injured Commodores: Diego Pavia. Pavia’s been playing on an injured leg for much of the back half of this season and looked beat up last weekend against LSU.
Awesome run from Pavia there and a huge flip of the field, but wow, does he look injured.pic.twitter.com/sCDssDdYLt
— Aiden Rutman (@RutmanAiden) November 24, 2024
“Diego [Pavia] is limited. There’s still an ability for him to keep us ahead of the chains,” Lea said. “He had an explosive run in the game on Saturday, and it was at the back end of that where we felt like we needed to infuse Nate into the offense to get the option game going. But if [Pavia’s] out there, it’s because he’s going to be able keep us ahead of the chains and keep us on the field.”
Pavia might be injured, but that isn’t the only reason Vanderbilt’s offense has faltered in recent weeks.
“Where our offense is falling off is that we haven’t been able to establish a run game. I thought it looked better against LSU. I thought we had opportunities there where we found some space,” Lea said. “Sometimes they were kind of gritty, [with] five or six-yard runs, but we were able to do that. We have to commit to that. You know, we have to design success.”
The running game starts with the battle in the trenches, between Vanderbilt’s offensive line and the opposing defensive lines. In this case, it’ll be Tennessee’s front seven, led by superstar lineman James Pearce Jr.
“We’ve got to play better in front,” Lea said. “I thought the [offensive] line had a good bye week, I thought they played better against LSU, but obviously this [weekend] will be a real challenge for them, facing a good defensive line.”
Vanderbilt will look to knock off its in-state rival and eliminate it from the College Football Playoff discussion. The Commodores and Volunteers will clash in the 119th meeting of their all-time series, which Tennessee leads 78-32-5. The game will kick off at 11 a.m. CST in FirstBank Stadium on Nov. 30.
