Getting run out of their own stadium by their in-state rival on Senior Day isn’t the way the Tennessee Volunteers wanted to end the regular season.
An inconsistent stretch of SEC play ended with a thud as Tennessee suffered a 45-24 loss to Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium. Vanderbilt outscored Tennessee 24-3 in the second half to secure the first 10-win season in program history and beat the Vols for the first time since 2018.
Vanderbilt outscored Tennessee 24-3 in the second half to deliver the Vols their third home loss this season after losing just four total in the previous four seasons.
As Tennessee (8-4, 4-4 SEC) waits to see what bowl game it will play in, head coach Josh Heupel will be doing a full reassessment of the program to figure out what changes need to be made to the coaching staff and personnel.
“Ultimately the performance we had (against Vanderbilt) is not anywhere near the standard of what Tennessee football is,” Heupel says. “There’s been a lot of things that we’ve had to deal with in the beginning, middle parts of the season. I felt like we took some steps here the last couple of weeks … It’s my job to evaluate everything inside of our program. I told our players we’ve had some disappointing results, but this second half was extremely disappointing. Coaches and players, not just one.”
Tennessee, which reached the College Football Playoff last season, showed flashes of being a contender this season but struggled to put all the pieces together at once. The Vols suffered losses to three of their four SEC rivals (Georgia, Alabama and Vanderbilt). They had No. 3 Georgia on the ropes in a game the Vols should have won at home, but suffered late defensive breakdowns and missed a field goal.
The one bright spot was finally ending their 19-year losing streak to Florida on the road. But only one week later, Tennessee was thoroughly beaten by Vanderbilt and quarterback Diego Pavia. Tennessee’s defense gave up 582 total yards, including 314 yards rushing. Pavia threw for 268 and a touchdown and rushed for 165 yards and another score.
Aguilar grateful for chance
In the aftermath, Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar was asked what accounted for the Vols up-and-down play over the course of the season.
“I would just probably say our week of preparation,” he says. “Some days we’re really good at practice. Some days we’re a little slower. And, I mean, that carries on to game days. I think what we’ve got to do is just attack the week like it’s your last. I mean, sometimes it could be your last. Sometimes it can’t.”
Aguilar performed admirably in likely his lone season for the Vols pending any legal outcomes that provide extra eligibility. The redshirt senior transferred to UT late in the spring following the unexpected departure of former quarterback Nico Iamaleava. He enters the bowl game with 3,444 passing yards, eclipsing Peyton Manning (3,287 in 1996) for fourth place in UT single-season history.
Following the final game at Neyland Stadium in front of another sellout crowd, Aguilar expressed his appreciation for the relationships he’s built with his UT teammates and coaches.
“Super grateful for them accepting me in so late, especially my teammates, and the bonds that I’ve built with them over the past couple months,” Aguilar says. “It means more than football, you know? I mean, football, that’s something we can all connect with and have fun. But outside of football, man, those guys, they’re my brothers for life. To know how strong of a connection we have in such (a short) amount of time, I can’t thank them enough, and the coaches, as well, for believing in me and trusting in me to lead this team.”
Not done yet
From the Iamaleava spring drama to nagging injuries to a disgruntled player leaving the program, the fifth season under Heupel had many more bumps than the previous four. Given the current college football calendar, Heupel will need to be prepared this month to make changes to the coaching staff or roster if he decides to go in that direction.
The Vols who choose to participate in the bowl game will try to end the season on a positive note despite the frustrations they’ve experienced in failing to reach the program’s expectations, which have increased in congruence with the financial investment made by the university and fan base.
“Grateful to go out there one more time with the guys in the bowl game and be out there at practice,” Aguilar says. “Practice is really where you make all the most memories. You only get a certain amount of game days. But practice, man, just excited to go attack it one more time with the guys.”