Vanderbilt, Tennessee players get into full-on brawl during game

Complete chaos broke out near the end of the first half in Saturday’s contest pitting Tennessee against Vanderbilt. A brawl broke out between the Vols and Commodores players, with several members from both sides having to be broke up by referees and coaches.

The brawl occurred with three minutes remaining in the first half, as Tennessee held a 24-10 lead. Surprisingly, no ejection result from the scrum. Vols edge rusher Tyron Baron and defensive lineman Dominic Bailey received unsportsmanlike conduct penalties as a result of the play.

You can view the brawl between Tennessee and Vanderbilt below.

Vanderbilt and Tennessee players having to be broken up. pic.twitter.com/7WqZzT7mnb

— Joey Dwyer (@joey_dwy) November 25, 2023

The brawl broke out after Baron landed a sack on Vanderbilt quarterback AJ Swann. He left the game with injury and unfortunately did not return, finishing the day with 167 yards passing and a touchdown.

Ken Seals stepped in to finish out the game 7-of-9 passing for 61 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, the Commodores couldn’t come away with the win as they fell 48-24.

With the loss, Vanderbilt finished out the regular season without an SEC win. They managed only two wins this year and will miss out on a bowl game for the fifth straight season.

Tennessee, on the other hand ends the year 8-4. The Vols will now await the announcement on which bowl game they will play in and have now achieved their third winning season under coach Josh Heupel.

Josh Heupel sends message to Tennessee players following brawl vs. Vanderbilt

Saturday’s regular season-ending contest between heated SEC in-state rivals Vanderbilt and Tennessee has garnered a ton of attention for its first half fireworks. However, it’s not in reference to the offensive explosion from Tennessee resulting in over 300 yards of total offense. No, it has been the explosion of emotional fireworks boiling over into multiple scrums in the first half.

As the Volunteers headed into the locker room at halftime, head coach Josh Heupel shared what the message to his team would be following all the chaos in the second quarter.

“Be smart,” said Heupel. “Don’t do something that embarrasses you [and] takes away from the team. Just be smart.”

Before addressing the multiple scrums, Heupel praised his offense for their performance in the first half. The Volunteers, led by quarterback Joe Milton, are in complete control of the game with a 31-10 lead and 347 yards of total offense to match.