Derek Mason gets the football rout of Tennessee

This was the last time in 1926, when Dan McGugin's Vanderbilt National Program won its sixth consecutive victory over the Vols. Before General Robert Neyland turned things around. Before Tennessee plays football. Before Vanderbilt decided that it would be a football school rather than a football school. Shortly after the opening of Vanderbilt Stadium (at the time Dudley Field), 104 years old but who does not seem to be more than 208 years old.

This is the story of this result, which is also five years in seven years for Vanderbilt. And what, let's face it, says more about the fall of Tennessee than about the progress of Vanderbilt. But in the news, the match was much more important for Vanderbilt fifth-year coach Derek Mason than for Tennessee freshman Jeremy Pruitt.

And we can say that this season is a success for Mason, even if it was filled with frustration. Call it a succstration. The Commodores are 6-6 and go to a bowl game for the second time in his tenure. It was the football team "I thought I had to start the season," said later a delighted mason.

"I have a group of guys who just fight and fight here at Vanderbilt University," Mason said. "When people said that they could not do it, they did it, when people said we were going to finish last, not so fast."

We can also describe this season as a disappointment for Pruitt, whose team has recorded consecutive misses to finish last in the Eastern SEC after a Kentucky-inspired 24-7 victory. A loss of 50-17 at home to Missouri and the embarrassment of Saturday are sending the Flights to 5-7 years, home for the holidays, unable to take advantage of additional bowl practices that Pruitt could certainly use.

Win one of these victories and the season is successful in Knoxville, after the shots of Butch Jones and the end of 2017. The bar was not high this season. It will soon be much higher. And I can not say that I saw anything during the season that prevented Pruitt from succeeding in Tennessee. Like it or not, he announced the quality of his alignment, he is not wrong.

Yes, it was an extremely inconsistent team, but at least Kentucky and Auburn happened. These were exaggerated moments. We will see about Pruitt.

This was the moment "we'll see" for Mason (who, for the record, had good things to say about Pruitt and said he would "resurrect" the Vols). And Mason showed something.

Some Vanderbilt fans will still not be fascinated by a coach who, if the Commodores quit their indeterminate match, would have five losing seasons in five tries. And this season, with Shurmur as a senior and so much talent around him, could have been better.

There was the impressive 22-17 close to Notre Dame. The 21-3 ahead of Florida. Painful losses in Kentucky and Missouri, both of which could have been won through better training decisions by Mason and his staff.

Saturday, as usual, Mason's team was passionate. In the first period, the Commodores played as if they were desperate. The volunteers … played.

"It's pretty simple," said Pruitt after his team was whitened by the score from 467 to 242 and had kept the ball for just 17 minutes. "The best team has won today."

Offensive halfback Ke'Shawn Vaughn was about to make a big day when he was late in the first quarter with a shoulder / arm injury. His departure simply meant more fun for others.

Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason is defeated after the Tennessee victory at Vanderbilt Stadium on Saturday, November 24, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com)

Khari Blasingame was bulldozed. Kalija Lipscomb and Jared Pinkney had big games and touchdowns. Real rookie CJ Bolar had a career-high 93 yards. Abdur-Rahman earned his dazzling 26-yard score in his second career start. Cody Markel had an inconsistent score on his first career decision. Vanderbilt coaches have done the job on Tennessee coaches.

And Shurmur? He's an NFL quarterback, but if he could play the Flights every game, he would be an NFL star. He was 31-in-35 for 367 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday, a spectacular performance for seniors that earned him to be the fourth quarterback Vandy to win three wins against the Vols – and the first since you've been there 39, you'll have guessed, in the 1920s.

"The game of his life," said Mason, who built for this season at the SEC's toughest place to build anything.

He has a team that is totally better than Tennessee. He could not afford to waste that talent. Finally, he did not do it.

And in the ensuing Gatorade bath and Mason dance show, the hugs and screams, the noisy party in the locker room and the hilarious five-player Vanderbilt press conference, we could see something that has been consistent among the highs and lows of Mason's program performance. Something Pruitt needs to instill by storing his talents.

"It's going to last forever, past this season, after this next game," said Vanderbilt linebacker Josh Smith. "It's a fraternity that will last a lifetime, so we'll cherish all the extra moments together."

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