Tennessee football concludes the regular season on Saturday afternoon when they face rival Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium. Tom Hart, former Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers and Cole Cubelic are on the call for ESPN. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET.
It’s the second Tennessee game that the Hart, Rodgers and Cubelic crew have called this season. They previously called Tennessee’s win at Kentucky.
The matchup is Tennessee’s sixth afternoon game this season along with home matchups against ETSU, Georgia, Arkansas and New Mexico State along with its road matchup at Mississippi State. However, this is the first game on ESPN with ABC or the SEC Network broadcasting those other matchups.
Tennessee also played four nights games in the regular season— a home matchup against Oklahoma and road trips to Alabama, Kentucky and Florida. The Vols played in the early, noon time slot in their wins over Syracuse and UAB in the first month of the season.
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The Vols are 8-3 (4-3 SEC) entering the matchup after dominating Florida 31-11 on Saturday night in Gainesville. Tennessee is all but eliminated from the College Football Playoffs but are looking to close the regular season strong with a second straight rivalry win.
Vanderbilt’s College Football Playoff hopes are still alive with one game remaining in the 2025 season. The Commodores are 9-2 (5-2 SEC) after blitzing Kentucky Saturday in their penultimate game of the regular season. Vanderbilt’s two losses this season were each on the road, first at Alabama and then again at Texas.
In a reversal of last season, Tennessee will likely be looking to dash Vanderbilt’s College Football Playoff hopes in the regular season finale. The Commodores still remain on the outside looking in of the College Football Playoff rankings, but with a win and a few breaks their way they will be in the 12-team playoff.
Tennessee has dominated the rivalry series all time, holding an 81-32-5 advantage. The Vols have won the last six matchups dating back to Jeremy Pruit’s first year as Tennessee’s head coach.
Other top SEC matchups on rivalry week including Ole Miss-Mississippi State, Georgia-Georgia Tech and Texas A&M-Texas on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Top rivalry games on Saturday include the Iron Bowl at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC and LSU-Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m. ET on either ABC.
