Grover C. Magnus 
Tennessee will end their regular season with a familiar foe in a clash that presents two new faces to a long-standing rivalry in the state. After taking on Southern Alabama at Neyland Stadium this week, the Vols are concluding their 2021 schedule when Vanderbilt comes to Knoxville on the last Saturday in November. The SEC revealed the start times and televised designations for the Nov. 27 games on Monday, and Tennessee’s game against Vanderbilt will start at 3:45 p.m. and will be televised by the SEC network.
The SEC’s unofficial “Rivalry Week” features many familiar games over the extended final week before the playoffs. The Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State returns Thursday night for Thanksgiving with Missouri facing Arkansas on Black Friday. In addition to Commodore Flights, the Saturday slate includes the usual rivalry games in the state – Georgia at Georgia Tech, Clemson in South Carolina, Florida State in Florida, Kentucky in Louisville, and Alabama at Auburn in the Iron Bowl. – as well as Texas A&M at LSU.
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After a 34-17 loss to Kentucky last week, Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6 SEC) faces another tough game at Ole Miss this week before facing his longtime rival in the state.
It’s been a tough season for the Commodores and the first-year head coach Clark Lea, who inherited a program after a dismal winless season in 2020. After beating Tennessee in the 2018 regular season finale, Vanderbilt has won just three of his next 22 games and s ‘is separated from Derek mason eight games in his seventh season in Nashville. The Commodores still carry the brunt of an 18-game losing streak in the SEC dating back to a win over Missouri in 2019.
Lea, a native of Nashville and alumnus of the Montgomery Bell Academy who performed back for Bobby johnson at Vanderbilt (2002-04), spent the last four seasons at Notre Dame, working as a linebacker coach in 2017 before becoming defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish in 2018. Notre Dame was 43-8 over the course of his four seasons there and played in the college football playoffs in 2018 and 2020. Lea’s defenses ranked in the top 15 nationally in points awarded in each of her three seasons as coordinator defensive of Notre Dame.
His first adventure as a head coach was tough as he set out to rebuild Vanderbilt. Lea’s debut went horribly as the Commodores lost 23-3 to Tennessee State of the Championship Subdivision, and Vanderbilt was on the wrong side of losses against Georgia (62-0), the Florida (42-0) and Mississippi State (45-6) and also lost by 18 to a Stanford team who now have 3-7. There were some bright spots, however, as the Commodores bounced back from ETSU’s loss to win at Colorado State the following week, pulled off a few late exploits to beat Connecticut, and played competitively in losses. narrow against South Carolina and Missouri.
The Commodores couldn’t maintain a 20-14 lead in the final two minutes of the loss to the Gamecocks, giving up a 75-yard touchdown in eight games and the winning score with 37 seconds left.
Vanderbilt also trailed Missouri 24-21 after three quarters and moved closer to 30-28 with three minutes left before failing to get a defensive stoppage, but after an open date last week, the Commodores trailed Kentucky 31 -3 at halftime before the Wildcats fly away. in the second half.
Since losing to Vanderbilt in the 2018 final, the Vols have restored some order to that rivalry, beating the Commodores 28-10 on a rain-drenched Neyland in 2019 and moving away from a group. shorthanded in a 42-17 victory at Nashville in 2020.
