Vandy Week Preparation

Well, it's that time of the year again, Vol fans.  It's Vandy week, which means that the whole state of Tennessee will be up for grabs at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

As lopsided as the overall record between Tennessee and Vandy is, which is 73-29-5 in UT's favor, Vandy's 41-18 win last year showed a sign of different times in this great rivalry.  With new coach James Franklin, Vandy has a new, rejuvenated energy to the team that hasn't been present for what seems like a century.  This is good for the rivialy between the two teams, but not good at all for UT.  And this new Vandy team is exactly what UT does not need to deal with as we are trying to recover from one of the worst 3 year stretches in program history.

You can thank this doofus for those awful 3 years.

But since the hire of this guy, Butch Jones, Tennessee has also felt it's own sense of rejuvenation within the program that hasn't been felt since the hiring of Lane Kiffin.  Now I know what you're saying, "But Lane Kiffin left after one year to go to USC and in turn left UT in shambles for Derek Dooley to clean up." Well you're right that Kiffin screwed us when he suddenly left for USC while also almost destroying the football program here, but the energy he brought to the team and to potential recruits was unprecedented.  In the end, however, his recruiting practices were very flawed because he broke almost every secondary violation the NCAA has noted, so it was probably best that he left anyway.

But back to the current topic, Butch Jones brings in a new style of discipline that was never present under Dooley.  My theory of how Dooley's teams went 2-1 against Vandy in his 3 years was based solely on the team's offensive talent and immense amounts of luck.  With players like Bray, Rogers, Hunter, Patterson, Rivera, and even our current offensive line that has started the past 3 years, it's hard to imagine how we couldn't win against an inferior Vandy team.  But somehow, Dooley's teams found a way to make the game close when it should have been a blowout to begin with, and I blame that exclusively on the coaching, or lack thereof in this case.  Therefore, this new staff of Jones and Co. have shown marvelous strides when it comes to disciplined football, even with incredibly limited amounts of talent on both sides of the ball.  I mean when Michael Palardy, our kicker and punter, might be the team's MVP for the YEAR, it says a lot to how much talent is absent from this team.  With that said, it's hard to think this 4-6 UT team has a chance against a well-coached and fairly talented 6-4 Vandy team.

However, this is no ordinary game.  It's an interstate rivalry against two teams that hate each other's guts to no end.  At this point, records, stats, and talent get thrown out the door, and all that's left is which team has more heart and will to win.  Both teams will be extremely motivated to walk away with a victory come Saturday's end. However, my prediction has to lean with UT on this one for three reasons:
1. It has been announced today that the seniors on the team decided to bring back the smokey grey uniforms for their last home game of their careers.  This should give the team a little extra boost.
2. Sitting at 4-6, UT has to win both games this week against Vandy and on the road against Kentucky to be bowl eligible, so there's reason to believe UT has more to play for in this game.
3. The game is being played at Neyland Stadium.  If the win against South Carolina didn't convince you that this place gives the Vols an incredible home field advantage, then I don't know what will.

So in the end, I give the Vols a slight victory for these three reasons.  But this game could very easily go either way, and it should be very exciting to watch, so I expect every one of you to be there clad in orange at 7 p.m. on Saturday. GO VOLS!