Upon Further Review: No. 14 Vanderbilt 45, No. 19 Tennessee 24

The final word on Vanderbilt’s win against Tennessee, plus 10 things you may not have noticed.

Vanderbilt defensive lineman Khordae Sydnor (96) celebrates near the end of the game during the fourth quarter against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – What a way to finish the regular season for Vanderbilt football.

The Commodores accomplished its first 10-win season ever, beating Tennessee 45-24 to achieve history. The two teams traded touchdowns for the first two quarters. After that, however, it was all Vanderbilt.

The Commodores scored 10 points to start off the second half and added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away and make a statement to the College Football Playoff committee. Diego Pavia recovered from his two early interceptions and came back with a Heisman-like performance in the second half.

The offense was firing on all cylinders as it had over 500 yards of offense in the game in addition to the points scored. The win was one of the more memorable wins in Vanderbilt football history, snapping a six-game losing streak to the Volunteers.

With the win, there are a lot of things that stood out. Here are the play of the game, player of the game, stat of the game and 10 things you may not have noticed from the game.

Play of the Game: There could be so many different plays you could choose from, but it has to be Diego Pavia’s touchdown pass to Tre Richardson. It swung all the momentum into Vanderbilt’s way because the Commodores had drawn a roughing the passer penalty on the play beforehand. The touchdown was seconds before halftime and changed the complexion of the game.

Player of the Game: Sedrick Alexander. Alexander ran for a career-high 115 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the game in addition to his fumble recovery in the first quarter to keep an offensive possession going.

Stat of the Game: The win gave Vanderbilt its 10th win in a season for the first time ever. Not even in the seasons in which Vanderbilt has won a bowl game has it reached 10 wins. A historic night for the Vanderbilt football program.

10 things you may not have noticed

1. Pavia’s Incredible Day: Diego Pavia put up 268 passing yards and a touchdown despite his two interceptions. On the ground, Pavia was perhaps even better has he ran the ball 20 times for 165 yards and a touchdown.

2.Red Zone: Vanderbilt scored on four of its five possessions in the red zone. Three touchdowns and one field goal. Tennessee only made it to the red zone three times and scored on two of the trips.

3. Balanced Receiving: Vanderbilt’s air attack was split evenly among a few players. Junior Sherrill had a team-high 76 receiving yards while Tre Richardson had 75 yards. Eli Stowers also came up with 64 receiving yards on five receptions.

4. Third Down: Vanderbilt was incredibly efficient on third down. The Commodores converted on seven of its 10 opportunities (70 percent success rate).

5. Big Runs: Vanderbilt ran the ball up and down the field all night, totaling 11 rushes for over 10 yards. The biggest run was Pavia’s 41-yard run midway through the third quarter.

6.Big Passing Plays: Pavia also made many explosive plays through the air, coming up with eight completions for over 15 yards. Pavia’s longest completion was to tight end Eli Stowers on a RPO play as Stowers ran a slant route. The drive led to a Vanderbilt touchdown.

7.Total Yardage: Vanderbilt had another terrific offensive output in the game, totaling 582 yards of offense to Tennessee’s 382. The Commodores were lighting up the scoreboard and statsheet all night.

8. Style Points: Vanderbilt was looking to make a statement coming into this weekend and that is exactly what it did. Winning by 21 points over its in-state rival is certainly a statement to the committee, but will it be enough?

9.First Downs and Possession Time: Vanderbilt controlled the possession time with 34:59 to 25:01. The Commodores also had 27 first downs in the game to Tennessee’s 21.

10. Postseason Conversation: Vanderbilt is 10-2. The issue for Vanderbilt is that none of the teams in front of it lost, which makes the path for the Commodores very difficult. A statement win like the one Saturday could be enough to jump a team or two, but Vanderbilt could still be boxed out due to wins from Oklahoma and Alabama.