Tennessee and Vanderbilt players had to be separated after a bench-clearing scuffle

Tennessee and Vanderbilt have one of the most classic rivalries in all of college football, and tempers flared at Neyland Stadium on Saturday more than once.

In a frenzied sequence that saw multiple players and Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea get unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, a chippy drive led to a partial bench-clearing scuffle between the Volunteers and Commodores after Vandy quarterback A.J. Swann took one too many unflagged hits on dead ball fouls, per the Associated Press‘ Teresa Walker.

The Athletic‘s Joe Rexrode also noted that uncalled free shots on Swan likely aggravated the Commodores to the point of fighting.

You can see in these two videos how thing started to get tense before devolving into a brawl in the second clip, per Vandy Sports’ Joey Dwyer.

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

— Joey Dwyer (@joey_dwy) November 25, 2023

Another scuffle. pic.twitter.com/effe5YRXqL

— Joey Dwyer (@joey_dwy) November 25, 2023

You can get another view of the scuffling below, per CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani.

Things are getting crazy in Knoxville pic.twitter.com/NfanlJ9n3a

— Jordan Dajani (@JordanDajani) November 25, 2023

Things got so heated between these two teams during this sequence that Lea had to be held back while he was yelling at a referee.

He got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his clear display of frustration, per Rexrode.

Clark Lea is mad pic.twitter.com/JDbzV4pgnk

— Jordan Dajani (@JordanDajani) November 25, 2023

After the scuffling concluded, three players — Tennessee defensive end Tyler Baron and Tennessee defensive lineman Dominic Bailey, along with Vanderbilt offensive lineman Delfin Xavier Castillo — drew unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, per Knox News’ Mike Wilson.

This is the second big brawl of the college football week after a fight during Missouri-Arkansas led to three players being ejected from the game.