Vanderbilt defender makes honest admission about how it feels to lose to the Tennessee Vols
Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea told reporters last week that the game against the Tennessee Vols was "personal" for him. "The unique thing about this game is that it's extremely personal to me," said Lea last week. "Because I grew up in this city. I grew up following this program. I played in this […]
Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea told reporters last week that the game against the Tennessee Vols was "personal" for him.
"The unique thing about this game is that it's extremely personal to me," said Lea last week. "Because I grew up in this city. I grew up following this program. I played in this program."
Vanderbilt's entire team took that mindset into Saturday's matchup against the Vols.
In the first quarter, it looked like Tennessee was in trouble after falling behind 14-0 to an inspired Vanderbilt squad. The Vols, however, were able to settle into the game and their offense starting hitting on all cylinders, allowing Tennessee to leave Nashville with a 36-23 win.
After the game, Commodores linebacker Langston Patterson, who is from Nashville, told reporters that it "sucks to lose" to Tennessee.
"Yeah, it hurts, man," said Patterson when asked about losing to Tennessee. "You hate to lose, I hate to lose — especially to those guys. It's rivalry week for a reason. No one on our team particularly likes those guys. And I know no one over there likes us. And so, you know, you see the game get a little chippy there, back and forth. But at the end of the day, losing sucks. And it especially sucks to lose to those guys."
Vanderbilt didn't make it easy on Tennessee. The Commodores, like many teams around the nation, are banged up and their depth has been tested. Ultimately, Tennessee's talent and depth were too much for Vanderbilt to overcome. But it was a battle for the Vols — Vandy made Tennessee earn everything they got on Saturday afternoon in Nashville.
The Commodores have made remarkable progress under Clark Lea this season. But their loss to Tennessee shows that the Vanderbilt roster isn't quite where it needs to be to be a threat in the College Football Playoff conversation.
