Dont'e Thornton had two touchdown receptions in the first half for Tennessee football at Vanderbilt before leaving with an injury.

NASHVILLE — Tennessee is down a second receiver at Vanderbilt with Dont’e Thornton leaving the game at halftime. Thornton caught three catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, helping the Vols rally for a 24-17 lead at the break.

The Vols have started the 2nd half well despite these developments. Receiver Mike Matthew filled in for Thornton, hauling in a touchdown pass to make the score 31-17. Tennessee is likely 2 quarters and a held lead away from a College Football Playoff berth. Let’s see if they can hold off the Commodores.

Vanderbilt football got off to about as good of a start as you could imagine against Tennessee on Saturday. Though it felt for a while like the Commodores could pull off another improbable upset, the No.

No. 7 Tennessee (9-2) heads to Nashville on Saturday to take on Vanderbilt (6-5) in an in-state rivalry between the two SEC schools. Tennessee looks to bounce back after dropping its last conference game to Georgia while Vanderbilt tries for another upset win over a ranked opponent after it defeated then No.

Nico Iamaleava tossed four TD passes and Dylan Sampson broke the Vols' rushing record in Tennessee's 36-23 win over Vanderbilt.

Tennessee spotted Vanderbilt a 14-0 victory before asserting its superiority. But the biggest comeback for the Vols has been years in the making.