The Vanderbilt Commodores came into their regular-season finale against the Tennessee Volunteers needing a win to clinch bowl eligibility. They did so with a win that was never really in any doubt.
Kyle Shurmur completed his first 15 passes of the afternoon, and the defense completely smothered Tennessee’s offense in the first half, giving the Commodores a 17-0 halftime lead in spite of Ke’Shawn Vaughn’s day coming to an early end — the redshirt junior exited in the first half with an apparent shoulder injury. Instead, Shurmur and the passing game picked up the slack, along with Khari Blasingame, who ran 19 times for 68 yards and a touchdown, and also had six catches for 62 yards.