No. 8 Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) ended its regular-season on Saturday. The Vols defeated Vanderbilt (6-6, 3-5 SEC), 36-23, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Rankings reflect the US LBM Coaches Poll.
Fourth-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel recapped the Vols’ win on Saturday.
“Just proud of our football team,” Heupel said. “All week we talked about finishing the regular-season the right way, and got to be a man to do that, and we prepared the right way, practiced the right way. We sure didn’t start the right way. The competitive composure, belief in the guys around you, just kept fighting and flipped the game there in the second quarter and early third.
“Defensively, I thought we did a great job bottling him (Diego Pavia) up all day long and the run game, and really limited in their pass game until the late drive in the fourth. Offensively, after the turnover early, settled into the ballgame and maximized our opportunities for the most part. Just a good football game. Special teams, some things that we can do better, but again, you just look at the work these guys have put in, proud of them to go finish and play the way that they did here. It’s a good team that we just got done playing. Look at their scores against some of the best teams in America and realize that. Great way to finish the season. Really proud of our guys.”
PHOTOS: Tennessee football defeats Vanderbilt in Week 14
Dylan Sampson. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
