Losing one or two members of a defensive unit can sting.
Vanderbilt lost its entire starting secondary to injuries or ejections by the opening minute of the fourth quarter, yet the Commodores stopped all four of UT’s fourth-quarter drives and rallied to win 14-10.
“Another example of this team just finding ways,” Vanderbilt coach James Franklin said. “The next guy goes in and does his job. Not one person flinched.”
Cornerback Andre Hal was injured and taken to the locker room late in the first quarter. Cornerback Steven Clarke left in the third quarter after having his head and neck checked after he made a head-first tackle on Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs.
Free safety Kenny Ladler was ejected for targeting — a call that was upheld — when he hit UT receiver Jason Croom high on a crossing route in the third quarter. Ladler was the first Vanderbilt player lost to the targeting rule this season. The senior will miss the first half of the season finale against Wake Forest.
In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, strong safety Javon Marshall was hurt on Dobbs’ scoring run which was wiped out by a block-in-the-back penalty.
The Commodores finished with Paris Head, Torren McGaster, Andrew Williamson and Jahmel McIntosh in the secondary.
Faulty fake: UT coach Butch Jones said his call for a fake field goal early in the fourth quarter was due to wind conditions as well as his feeling the Vols needed a touchdown.
“I knew we needed a touchdown to win the football game,” he said. “There was a stiff cross-wind coming.”
The Vols led 10-7. On the play, kicker Michael Palardy ran to his left and threw a pass across the field toward holder Tyler Drummer. The ball was underthrown and Head made his second interception of the game.
QB shuffle: Patton Robinette took seven snaps in the first half and was in for roughly 12 plays overall in relief of Vanderbilt starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels (21-of-27 passing for 181 yards).
Robinette (3-of-4 passing for 14 yards; eight rushes for 33 yards) entered on a number of third downs, usually to run the zone-read option or a quarterback draw. The last of his runs — the 5-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left — was a spin-off of the jump pass he threw for a score one week earlier.
“That was kind of the design of the play after the jump pass against Kentucky,” Robinette said. “We kind of felt like they would key on that, ride it in there, so we fake it a little bit and ran it in.”
Starting marks: Senior left tackle Wesley Johnson has started more games for Vanderbilt than any other player. He started for the 49th consecutive time, breaking a tie with Chris Marve (LB, 2007-2011) and Brian Stamper (OL, 2003-07).
Johnson trails only Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray (51 starts) among active SEC players.
Senior offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James made his 48th consecutive start for Tennessee, tying Jeff Smith for the most starts by a Vols offensive lineman. James has started every game since he arrived on campus. Smith started 48 games in 1992-95.
Barring a major surprise, James will get his 49th start next Saturday at Kentucky. After the loss to Vanderbilt, he said he will make it a point to keep his teammates motivated in practice this week.
“I don’t want everybody moping around all week,” he said.
James was one of 28 UT players honored at Senior Day festivities.
Turnover woes: The Commodores and Vols combined for five first-half turnovers and seven overall. Vanderbilt committed four of those after going to the previous two games without giving the ball away.
Dobbs threw two interceptions in the first half, and Vanderbilt senior Austyn Carta-Samuels tossed one. Ladler extended his streak of games with an interception to four when he picked off Dobbs’ first pass attempt. Head made two interceptions for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt lost just two fumbles through its first 10 games. But Jordan Matthews, Brian Kimbrow and Robinette all lost fumbles. Matthews’ and Robinette’s turnovers came inside the UT 20.
Butler block: Vanderbilt defensive tackle Adam Butler has become a kick-blocking specialist. After swatting a Kentucky extra-point try last week, the redshirt freshman got a hand on Palardy’s 33-yard field-goal attempt with 3:11 left in the first quarter.
The block foiled a Vols’ series that produced minus-4 yards in three plays after starting at the Vanderbilt 12 following Brian Randolph’s 41-yard interception return.
Going gray: UT wore its Smokey Gray uniforms for the second time this season. The Vols wore that uniform in a 34-31 overtime loss to Georgia on Oct. 5. UT coach Butch Jones decided to wear the alternate uniform after a vote by his seniors earlier in the week.
Middle of it all: UT inside linebacker A.J. Johnson needed only one half to record his 18th career double-digit tackle game and his fifth in the last eight contests. Johnson had 11 tackles (two for loss) to go with a fumble recovery in the opening 30 minutes. He finished with 13 tackles.
Elite club: Vols senior running back Rajion Neal ran for 95 yards to bump his career rushing yardage to 2,029, becoming the 14th Vol to reach the 2,000-yard mark.
November reign: Vanderbilt won its eighth consecutive November game and improved to 9-2 in the month under Franklin.
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