Tennessee (8-2, 5-2 SEC East), the defending national champions, were in the hunt for a second straight title until losing to Arkansas two weeks ago. Now, the Volunteers are playing for the right to appear in a Bowl Championshiop Series game, which they likely will garner with a victory. A loss would mean a second-tier bowl and lot less money for the school.

The Volunteers quickly put the loss to Arkansas behind them last week as they rolled to a 56-21 pounding of rival Kentucky. Travis Henry ran for three first-half touchdowns and finished with 179 yards.

Where Tennessee has a bowl bid locked up, Vanderbilt (5-5, 2-5) needs a victory to finish with a winning season and would be elgible to go to a bowl for the first time since the 1982 season. The Commodores posted an 8-4 record in 1982 and went to the Hall of Fame Bowl.

But that will be a tough task for the Commodores, who have lost 16 straight to Tennessee and trail the all-time series, 61-26-5. Vanderbilt is just 2-31-1 in the series since 1964 and have not won at Neyland Stadium since 1975.

Henry, a junior who backs up Jamal Lewis, has been a major force the last three games, rushing for 390 yards. Bad news for the Commodores is that Lewis, who is third on the school's rushing list 2,660 yards, is expected back for this contest after missing the Kentucky game with a shoulder injury.

This also will be the final home game for Tennessee senior quarterback Tee Martin. He is 21-2 all-time as a starter for the Vols and quarterbacked them to the national title last season.

Vanderbilt boasts an improved offense this season, but is still led by its defense. The Commodores rank 13th in the nation in total defense, yielding just 299.5 yards per game.

On offense, the Commodores have scored 242 points this season after scoring 142 all of last season. It is the most points they have scored in a season since totaling 286 in 1987.

The offense is led by the running of Rodney Williams and Jared McGrath. Williams has rushed for 566 yards and seven touchdowns while McGrath has 559 yards and one TD.

Vanderbilt was off last weekend after suffering a 19-17 loss to Kentucky on November 13. The Commodores have dropped consecutive games for the first time this season.

VANDERBILT Season schedule and results	TENNESSEE Season schedule and results
Sep. 4 Alabama L 17-28 Sep. 11 Northern Illinois W 34-31 Sep. 18 @Mississippi W 37-34 Sep. 25 @Duke W 31-14 Oct. 2 Mississippi State L 14-42 Oct. 9 The Citadel W 58-0 Oct. 16 Georgia L 17-27 Oct. 23 @South Carolina W 11-10 Nov. 6 @Florida L 6-13 Nov. 13 Kentucky L 17-19 Nov. 27 @Tennessee 12:00pm ET	Sep. 4 Wyoming W 42-17 Sep. 18 @Florida L 21-23 Sep. 25 Memphis W 17-16 Oct. 2 Auburn W 24-0 Oct. 9 Georgia W 37-20 Oct. 23 @Alabama W 21-7 Oct. 30 South Carolina W 30-7 Nov. 6 Notre Dame W 38-14 Nov. 13 @Arkansas L 24-28 Nov. 20 Kentucky L 21-56 Nov. 27 Vanderbilt 12:00pm ET