Tennessee Volunteers (2-6)
at
Vanderbilt Commodores (0-8)
VUCommodores.com
Twitter • @VandyFootball
Instagram • @VandyFootball
Facebook • VanderbiltAthletics
In-Game Notes • @VandyNotes
Dec. 12, 2020 • 3 p.m. CT
Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, Tenn.
SEC Network
Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst),
Dawn Davenport (sideline)
WQZQ 830 AM • 93.3 FM
Willy Daunic (play-by-play), Norman Jordan (analyst),
Kevin Ingram (sideline)
• Vanderbilt returns to action with a 3 p.m. CT kick against Tennessee with live coverage on SEC Network. It will be the program’s first home game since Nov. 21 and just the second home contest since Nov. 1.
• Saturday marks the 115th meeting between Vanderbilt and Tennessee with the Volunteers leading the series 76-33-5. The Commodores, however, have won five of the last eight contests.
• The Commodores traditionally end their season with a matchup against the cross-state rival Volunteers. The 2020 finale against Georgia will mark the first time since 2013 (Wake Forest) that Vandy has ended the slate with a team other than the Volunteers.
• Vandy and the Volunteers have met annually since 1946. The Vanderbilt-Tennessee series ranks fourth among the SEC’s most frequently played rivalries. The Commodores have played Tennessee more than any other team.
• Vandy named Todd Fitch the team’s interim head coach Nov. 29. Fitch, a 35-year college football veteran, came to West End in 2020 after a successful stint with head coach Skip Holtz at Louisiana Tech where Fitch helped the Bulldogs to four consecutive postseason victories. The Ohio native will continue to serve as the Commodores’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
• Twenty academic seniors and graduate students will be recognized prior to kickoff Saturday: wide receiver Tyrell Alexander, offensive lineman Drew Birchmeier, wide receiver James Bostic III, linebacker Brayden DeVault-Smith, cornerback Allan George, cornerback Elijah Hamilton, cornerback Randall Haynie, linebacker Kenny Hebert, long snapper Scott Meyer, offensive lineman Connor Mignone, center Grant Miller, linebacker Andre Mintze, defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, linebacker Michael Owusu, wide receiver Chris Pierce Jr., defensive tackle Rutger Reitmaier, defensive tackle Cameron Robinson, wide receiver Keithian Starling, defensive tackle Cameron Tidd and running back Jamauri Wakefield.
• At Missouri (Nov. 28), senior Sarah Fuller kicked off to begin the second half, becoming the first female to play in a Power 5 contest. Fuller’s kick went 30 yards and was downed at the Missouri 35-yard line. Fuller, from Wylie, Texas, spent four seasons as a keeper for the Vanderbilt soccer team. The Commodores won the 2020 SEC Tournament with Fuller in goal for all four postseason wins.
• Fifth-year senior linebacker Andre Mintze is one of 20 semifinalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award and a candidate for the Wuerffel Trophy.
• Vandy’s offense has committed just two turnovers in the last three games after committing five at Mississippi State (Nov. 7) and after averaging 2.8 turnovers during the first five contests.
• In the fourth quarter at Kentucky (Nov. 14) and during the opening frame against Florida (Nov. 21), the Commodores combined to score 24 points. In the first three games, spanning 12 quarters, Vanderbilt totaled 26 points.
• Freshman Ken Seals has already set the Vanderbilt freshmen single-season passing yardage record with 1,689 yards. He is the nation’s only true freshman quarterback to have reached the 300-yard plateau in three games this fall.
• Senior wide receiver Chris Pierce Jr. owns five touchdown receptions in the last five games, tied for the sixth most among Power 5 receivers during the span. Pierce Jr.’s five touchdown grabs this season are the most for a Commodore since Jared Pinkney (7) and Kalija Lipscomb (9) in 2018. Pierce Jr.’s two touchdown grabs against Florida (Nov. 21) are the most by a Commodore against an SEC foe since Lipscomb had two against Ole Miss on Nov. 17, 2018.
• Junior wide receiver Cam Johnson is tied for second among FBS players in receptions since Oct. 25 with 40. Johnson’s 49 receptions this season are tied for the 10th most by a junior in Vanderbilt history.
