No. 9 Tennessee Barely Gets Past Vanderbilt, 14-7

Peyton Manning completed only 17 of 35 passes for 163 yards with one interception in his final regular-season game for Tennessee, as the No. 9 Volunteers struggled to get past Vanderbilt, 14-7, in a Southeastern Conference game Saturday.

Vanderbilt, 2-9 overall and 0-8 in the SEC, pulled within 14-7 with only 27 seconds gone in the fourth quarter and had several chances to tie the game. But Tennessee (9-2, 7-1) intercepted two passes and ended Vanderbilt’s final drive with two sacks.

Tennessee scored its only points in the second quarter, and the defense made it stand up by sacking quarterback Damian Allen four times, forcing three turnovers and giving up 139 yards of offense.

Tennessee held Vanderbilt to only 29 yards through three quarters. But Allen, who had thrown only six touchdown passes in the last three seasons, helped the Commodores avoid their fourth shutout as freshman Todd Yoder caught Allen’s pass at the Tennessee 38 and scored on the 82-yard play to pull Vanderbilt within 14-7.