By Jack Glennon
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– The Tennessee Volunteers’ defense is the absolute bane of the team’s existence.
A 45-24 home loss to Nashville, Tennessee’s Vanderbilt Commodores cemented an already disappointing regular season as what may now be considered a complete failure.
Tennessee’s defensive performance certainly did not help the Volunteers’ cause in this one.
Vanderbilt’s offense totaled 582 yards, its second-highest game total in nine seasons.
Vanderbilt’s 21 first-half points were also their most in an SEC road game since 2018.
Star Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia threw two interceptions, yet still managed to make the Tennessee defense look utterly foolish.
Unfortunately, this suggests that the Volunteers rely far too heavily on creating turnovers in an attempt to mask a handful of painfully obvious defensive shortcomings.
Vanderbilt running backs averaged over 8.6 yards per attempt, breaking tackles left and right en route to a dominant performance on the ground. Pavia added 165 rushing yards on 20 attempts.
Vanderbilt also rushed for five touchdowns, ripping the Volunteers’ red zone defense to shreds.
The Commodores managed to score on all five of their red zone trips, finding the end zone on four such occasions.
A season ago, the Tennessee defense ranked 12th in the nation in red zone efficiency.
Just 12 months later, however, they have plummeted to 105th, yielding touchdowns on well over 85% of their opponents’ trips to the red zone.
The Volunteers have also surrendered over 140 yards rushing per game this season, a stark contrast to the 106 they gave up on a weekly basis last season.
“The performance we had tonight is not anywhere near the standard of what Tennessee football is,” Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel said after the game. “It’s all those little things that add up to a result.”
I would argue, however, that this loss was not a matter of failing to do the “little things”. It was a complete and total blowout.
Tennessee was dominated on the clock, losing the time of possession battle 34:59-25:01.
This marked the 10th time in 11 games against FBS opponents this season that Tennessee failed to effectively control the pace.
On the season, the Volunteers rank 130th of 136 eligible teams in time of possession.
Tennessee’s defense showed signs of fatigue as the game progressed, as Vanderbilt converted four of their five third-down opportunities in the second half.
The Commodores were able to gain 9.2 yards per play in the second half, embarrassing the exhausted Volunteers’ linebackers.
Despite the abysmal performance by the Volunteer defense, however, Joey Aguilar turned in another respectable performance.
The senior quarterback passed for 245 yards and a touchdown, completing 66% of his passes.
Unfortunately for the Volunteers, he was unable to will Tennessee to a win in what will likely be his final home game as a Volunteer.
Aguilar also passed Peyton Manning on the Volunteers’ all-time single-season passing list, sliding into fourth place with 3,390 yards.
“I cannot thank [everyone] enough,” Aguilar said. “For believing in me and trusting me to lead this team.”
Although Saturday likely marked Aguilar’s final Neyland Stadium appearance as a Volunteer, the quarterback position will likely be the least of Tennessee’s concerns going into the 2025-2026 campaign.