Tennessee's players and coaches need to watch Clark Lea's speech in the Vanderbilt locker room after Commodores' loss to LSU
The Tennessee Vols know what's on the line on Saturday in Nashville. Tennessee needs to get a win against the Vanderbilt Commodores to secure a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. And Tennessee's players are treating the matchup like it's a playoff game. “Everyone in the building knows the reality of the game and […]
The Tennessee Vols know what's on the line on Saturday in Nashville.
Tennessee needs to get a win against the Vanderbilt Commodores to secure a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
And Tennessee's players are treating the matchup like it's a playoff game.
“Everyone in the building knows the reality of the game and how much it means,” said Vols running back Dylan Sampson on Monday. “Basically it is a playoff game. You take care of business and handle what it is. We have to go in and handle every detail this week.”
Tennessee knows that Vanderbilt isn't a pushover — the Commodores beat Alabama in Nashville earlier this season. But to understand just how bad Vandy wants to beat the Vols, UT's players need to watch Commodores head coach Clark Lea's speech to his team this past Saturday night after losing to the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge.
Lea was emotional while addressing his team, telling his players how much he loves the way they fight and "punch back".
"There are guys in this room who will play their last game at home next week — we will send them out the right f—ing way," said Lea. "And I promise you, we're going to turn the page on this and it's not going to beat us twice. It's one f—ing week that we get to spend together to do everything we can to beat Tennessee."
Vanderbilt couldn't care less about Tennessee's playoff aspirations. The Commodores are going to be on a mission Saturday. They badly want to get their seventh win of the season. And they badly want to beat the Vols to earn state bragging rights. This game means a lot to Vanderbilt, beyond the post-season implications for either program. It's going to be personal for the Commodores on Saturday.
Tennessee needs to make it personal, too. The Vols need to make this game about more than securing a playoff spot — it has to be about beating an in-state rival that's playing good football right now.
Everyone on Rocky Top knows the playoffs are on the line on Saturday. But when the Vols take the field at 11:00 AM CT on Saturday morning, the playoffs should be the furthest thing from their mind — the only thing Tennessee needs to be thinking about is taking the fight to Vanderbilt on every snap for a full 60 minutes.