Vanderbilt 42, Tennessee 24: 5 things we learned

KNOXVILLE — Something had to give when two teams winless in SEC play walked into Neyland Stadium on Saturday.

The Vanderbilt offense made sure it wasn’t going to be the Commodores leaving with an 0-8 SEC season, sending Tennessee to its first eight-loss season in program history. Quarterback Kyle Shurmur had a huge passing day and running back Ralph Webb balanced the offense on the ground to lead the Commodores to a 42-24 win against Tennessee.

Webb tied a season-high with 163 rushing yards and scored a pair of touchdowns, while Shurmur passed for four touchdowns.

Rexrode: Vandy romps over UT — Ralph Webb deserved it, Derek Mason needed it

The teams traded touchdowns early and often, with each team scoring on its first two drives after the Vols (4-8, 0-8 SEC) struck first.

Vanderbilt (5-7, 1-7) pulled ahead for good when Shurmur connected with Kalija Lipscomb for a 30-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. Shurmur put the game away with a 20-yard dart to Trent Sherfield for a touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter, giving Vanderbilt a 28-17 lead.

Here are five things we learned about Vanderbilt:

Black and gold series

Vanderbilt has only won back-to-back games against Tennessee twice since 1926 — but both of those two-game winning streaks have come in the past six meetings.

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The Commodores now hold the recent history of the rivalry quite firmly, with wins in four of the past six meetings with the Volunteers.

Coach Derek Mason also pulled to 2-2 against Tennessee in his career, with one-third of his SEC wins coming against the in-state rival.

Shurmur slinging it

Shurmur putting up impressive numbers against Tennessee? Stop me if you’ve heard that before. For the second season in a row, the Vanderbilt quarterback had no trouble airing it out against the Vols.

He threw for 283 yards and four touchdowns on 20-of-31 passing on Saturday, a year after throwing for 416 yards and two scores on 21-of-34 passing against the Vols.

Defense steps up

The Vanderbilt defense was an impressive unit for the first three weeks of the season, but that group had not been seen since September.

After allowing two straight touchdown drives to Tennessee to open the game, the Commodores stepped it up to limit the Vols the rest of the way. They allowed only 1 yard to Tennessee in the second quarter, getting heavy pressure on Vols quarterback Jarrett Guarantano and pushing Tennessee back for minus-7 rushing yards in the period.

They followed it up by allowing only 26 yards in the third quarter and only 76 total in the final three quarters.

Records and more records

Shurmur got the scoring going for Vanderbilt on its first drive, as he also set the school record for single-season passing touchdowns when he connected with C.J. Duncan for a 9-yard score.

It marked his 23rd passing touchdown of the year, and he built on the record throughout the game. Whit Taylor held the record previously, throwing 22 touchdowns in the 1982 season.

Webb got in on the action when he went airborne over the Vanderbilt offensive line for a touchdown on the Commodores’ second touchdown drive. The score was No. 31 in his career, setting a school record. He also moved into sixth place on the all-time SEC career rushing leaders list.

… and a bad one

When Tennessee’s Aaron Medley crushed a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter, Vanderbilt was cemented in the SEC single-season record book for having allowed the most points in conference play.

The Commodores allowed 346 points on the season. Arkansas had set the record this season with 337, while Mississippi State’s 2003 defense held the record previously, having allowed 329.