Takeaways: Vols Take Down Vandy in Rivalry Week Bludgeoning

The Vols blowout Vandy to win the State of Tennessee.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The tenth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers blew out the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville on a rainy Saturday night, destroying their rival 56-0.

Tennessee showed why they are far in a way the better Tennessee team in the SEC, annihilating the 'Dores from start to finish. 

Joe Milton III and Jalin Hyatt jumpstarted Tennessee's offense in the game, as the two connected for a 61-yard completion on the third play of the game. Jabari Small punched it in a play later, and Tennessee quickly led 7-0 55 seconds into the ball game. 

The Vols never looked back, exceeding in multiple facets of the game to get their tenth win of the season, the first time Tennessee has achieved the feat since 2007. 

Below are three quick takeaways from Tennessee's shutout win in Nashville. 

Dee Williams Breaks Out

Tennessee punt returner Dee Williams gave the Vols their third score of the night when the JuCo product returned a punt 73 yards to the house in the second quarter. 

Williams has displayed flashes of being able to return a punt for a TD, with the first being against LSU. It was only a matter of time before the junior ran one back, and it comes against Vanderbilt. 

Williams' spectacular night on special teams wasn't done after that run, as he accounted for 96 total punt return yardage. 

In addition, Williams forced a fumble on Vanderbilt's fake punt. The Commodores' punter ran for a first down but fumbled after Williams punched it out. Williams shined under the lights against Vandy in what was his best night as a Vol, cementing himself as the Special Teams Player of the game for Tennessee. 

Defense Bounces Back Well

After a complete meltdown from Tim Banks' group last week against South Carolina, Tennessee's defense rebounded in a big way on Saturday night in the shutout.

The group did fantastic as a whole, with EDGE Roman Harrison and STAR Tamarion McDonald being the standouts. 

Harrison lived in Vanderbilt's backfield all night, racking up two sacks, two-and-a-half TFLs and four total tackles. 

The tackle-leader of the night for Tennessee was Tamarion McDonald, who was the bright spot in the Vols secondary. 

McDonald was all over the field, as he accounted for two pass breakups and a tackle for loss. McDonald has had his moments of being an upper-echelon defender for Tennessee this season, but No. 12 arguably had his best game of the season against the Commodores. 

Tennessee's defense was on the field for a lot of plays on Saturday night, as Vanderbilt had multiple long drives, but the Vols found a way to make stops and prevent their rival from scoring a single point. 

Tennessee's shutout marks the Vols' first since Week 3 of the 2021 season when the Big Orange defeated Tennessee Tech 56-0. 

Run Game Takes Charge

Joe Milton III had his moments against Vanderbilt, but the Vols' rushing attack was far in a way the highlight on offense. 

Jabari Small set the tone with an early touchdown, but the first half was fairly slow on the rushing front, as Princeton Fant's one-yard touchdown plunge was the only other notable highlight. 

It wasn't until the second half where Tennessee broke it open the ground. And broke it open may be an understatement. 

Jabari Small set the tone in the second half as well, breaking a 52-yard run for a touchdown on Tennessee's second offensive play of the second half. 

The fun was far from over for Tennessee on the ground, as on the next drive, Jaylen Wright broke a run of his own for 50 yards and a touchdown. The play was Tennessee's fourth offensive play of the half, and the Vols had put up 14 points in the blink of an eye to extend their lead to 35-0. 

Freshman running back Dylan Sampson got in on the next drive and helped Tennessee go downfield, with Joe Milton III capping the drive with a TD throw to Walker Merrill. 

But Sampson didn't wait too long for his score, as three drives later he bulldozed a Commodore defender and ran 80 yards for a touchdown. 

Sampson's touchdown was the second for the Vols in two offensive plays, as the prior drive saw Jaylen Wright break a drive-opening run for 83 yards. 

The back-to-back 80-yard touchdown runs put Tennessee up 56-0, giving the Vols their SIXTH 50+ point showing on the season. 

Vanderbilt had zero answers for Tennessee's running backs, and the Vols put up their best team rushing performance since the Missouri game in 2021. 

Up Next

With the Vols not going to Atlanta, Tennessee will await their fate on what bowl game they will go to. With LSU losing to Texas A&M, the Vols are in good shape to potentially land a spot in the Orange Bowl.