UT Vols football still chasing consistent performances with Vanderbilt game looming

Mike Wilson | Knoxville

Show Caption Hide Caption Jeremy Pruitt updates status of Jarrett Guarantano, Marquez Callaway pre-Vanderbilt Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt met with the media Monday

Baylen Buchanan was quick to note that he hasn’t beaten Vanderbilt in his Tennessee football career.

Two years, no wins and a consistent pattern. The junior cornerback believes that in the past two games, the Commodores have had something the Vols didn’t: a will to win.

“I just felt like last year we didn’t have that — and the year before that,” Buchanan said. “It’s really important we come out ready to play.”

That has been a challenge throughout this season for the Vols (5-6, 2-5 SEC), who face Vanderbilt (5-6, 2-5) at 4 p.m. ET Saturday (SEC Network).

Tennessee has a pair of impressive victories over ranked teams in Jeremy Pruitt’s first season — a 30-24 tightly contested game at Auburn in October and a 24-7 handling of Kentucky two weeks ago.

Subscribe to the The Volunteer State

iTunes | Google Play Music | Spreaker

But the Vols followed up each strong performance with a total dud, allowing at least 50 points in each of the next games. Tennessee was blown out 58-21 by top-ranked Alabama after beating Auburn, then wrecked by Missouri in a 50-17 loss on Saturday.

“It seems like every time we take a step forward, the next week we take a step backward in terms of execution,” Buchanan said. “Each week is its own week. I feel like one thing we really lack this year is consistency in our execution. Just because you play good one week doesn’t mean it’s going to carry over to the next week. You are going to have to prepare the right way.

“We fight. But we just have to know what to do and how to do it all the time, like coach (Jeremy) Pruitt preaches.”

Baylen Buchanan: It would mean a lot for UT to beat Vanderbilt Tennessee cornerback Baylen Buchanan met with the media Monday.

After Saturday’s shellacking, linebacker Daniel Bituli and defensive lineman Kyle Phillips talked about Pruitt’s challenge to sustain. The Vols haven’t done that weekly, seemingly playing as two different teams throughout the season.

That’s not what great teams do, Bituli said.

Pruitt offered his assessment on Tennessee’s fluctuating tendencies after UT lost to Missouri: Sometimes the score doesn’t indicate how a team truly played. He claimed Tennessee had 50 mental errors defensively against Kentucky, but survived without getting exposed.

Against Missouri, the Vols had critical errors that proved costly.

“Our margin of error is not large enough,” Pruitt said. “We have to be a little more consistent on both sides of the ball.”

The pursuit of consistency has been a steady one all season for Tennessee. The Vols never appear to be the same from one week to the next.

Now, they are down to their final chance to put the good version of themselves on the field in game they have to win to reach the postseason.

“We just have to execute,” Buchanan said. “When you go into the game, we have to a mindset and an attitude about ourselves. That’s something I feel like we’ve been really inconsistent with. I think it’s really important this week that we finish the regular season strong and go to the bowl game.”

DAY TO DAY: UT Vols' Jarrett Guarantano, Marquez Callaway both 'day to day' with injuries

ADAMS: UT Vols have to deal with Vanderbilt's Kyle Shurmur next