Tennessee Football Preview: Vanderbilt Hosts Music City Showdown
Cornelius Vanderbilt donated $1 million to start Vanderbilt University in 1873. Al Gore and James Patterson are alumni of the university.
Vanderbilt is playing in Music City Showdown against Tennessee. The Dores are coming off back-to-back wins over Kentucky and Florida. They are not playing for the college football playoffs, but they are still projected to make a New Year's Six Bowl with a win.
Vanderbilt and Tennessee are playing a game in Music City Showdown. The line opened up on Sunday at either -17 or -16.5. Early action has brought it down to as low as -13.
Joe Milton has played in 20 games this season as a backup quarterback for Tennessee. He hasn't played meaningful snaps since the Ole Miss game. The last time he played a meaningful snap he stepped out of bounds with no time on the clock. Milton is a talented quarterback with good arm talent. Tennessee's best passing attack is against the 13th ranked pass defense. Vandy's pass rush is ranked 13 in the SEC. Tennessee needs to establish the run to help out Joe Milton. They are the only healthy quarterback in their team.
Tennessee's defense needs to control the pocket and pressure the quarterback. Vanderbilt's offense is not very effective. The defense is capable of clamping down on the Vandy offense if they can do so. If they don't, it could be a shootout in the season finale. Tennesse plays Vanderbilt in Music City Showdown. It's a game between two teams with less than 200 yards passing per game. Tennessee recorded just one sack and two QB hurries against South Carolina. They blitzed on approximately 43% of their defensive snaps.
Tennessee and Vanderbilt are playing in Music City Showdown. Tennessee fans expected a coronation for their team. In 2016 Tennessee won the SEC East, but lost the game to Vanderbilt. This time the team is 9-2 and playing for a bowl berth. The game is a litmus test for Josh Heupel's team and the culture around it. The team's defense will have to improve. Vanderbilt is riding a two-game win streak. They are winless in the Southeastern Conference since 2019. It has happened too often this past decade. A loss for Tennessee would be as devastating as the last few losses at Vanderbilt, which happened in recent years.
