Kirk picks Vandy

Tennessee is a 131/2-point favorite for its game at Vanderbilt on Saturday, but ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said he’s going with the Commodores.

“Give me Vandy,” Herbstreit said to host Rece Davis Tuesday night when the latest College Football Playoff rankings were released on ESPN. “I’m claiming Vandy right now, before you are even going to get close to that, Rece.”

Davis wanted to know if Herbstreit meant he was taking Vanderbilt and the points or picking the Commodores to win. “Outright?” Davis asked. “Outright,” Herbstreit said. “Outright on Saturday.”

While it’s a bold prediction, there is some logic to it.

Vanderbilt (5-6) stopped its SEC losing streak with a 24-21 victory at Kentucky and then beat Florida 31-24 at home last week.

Tennessee (9–2) is coming off a 63-38 loss at South Carolina in which starting quarterback Hendon Herndon suffered a seasonending knee injury,

The loss dropped the Vols from No. 5 to No. 10 in the poll and ended any hope of being included in the playoffs while Vanderbilt has the motivation of playing for bowl eligibility. regular season undefeated for the sixth time and second consecutive year.

Previously Georgia had perfect regular-season records in 1896 (4-0), 1946 (10-0), 1980 (11-0), 1982 (11-0) and 2021 (12-0).