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Lots of folks are saying that this is the defining game of Tennessee’s season. I can see that argument. The Vols now need this win to stay in the hunt for a bowl, and extra practices are surely a luxury that this young team can use. What I don’t know is this: How good is Vanderbilt?

Jordan Rodgers leads one of the more talented Vanderbilt teams in recent years.

They’re 2-5 in the SEC, with wins over Ole Miss and Kentucky. Those teams have a combined 1 SEC win, and that came when Kentucky beat Ole Miss. Tennessee has played none of those teams. Vanderbilt has played most of the common opponents better than Tennessee has, so that is definitely a strike against Tennessee.  But, depending on whose chart you want to believe Tennessee has played one of the hardest schedules in the country.  And it has done so with injuries to key people. The pain of getting LSU and Bama back to back, bookended by Georgia and South Carolina is brutal. It’s difficult to measure the physical and mental toll that takes on a team, especially a young one.  So, is Vanderbilt really better than Tennessee? I don’t know. I don’t THINK so. What say you?

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