I’ll admit it, I haven’t paid as much attention to the Tennessee-Vanderbilt rivalry as I used to.

All those Big Orange victories seem to run together, whether it be a 65-0 blowout in 1994 or Vanderbilt hanging tough for three quarters only to be foiled again in the end like Wile E. Coyote.

Save for Whit Taylor leading the Commodores to a victory in 1982, and Jay Cutler’s heroics in 2005, Vanderbilt’s highlights in this “rivalry” have been rare. In fact, the Commodores have lost 27 of the last 28 games and have won just seven times in the last 52 tries.

But a strange thing has happened on the way to the 2011 game. At least some of the Vegas oddsmakers have dared to install Vandy as a slight favorite. And truthfully, if Saturday’s opponent were any team other than Vanderbilt with its history of losing, the line for Saturday’s game would probably be even bigger against the host Volunteers.

Tennessee enters the contest reeling from a 49-7 embarrassment at Arkansas, and even though Tyler Bray is back practicing at quarterback for the Volunteers, it remains to be seen if he can be effective on Saturday while trying to throw with a broken thumb.

If Bray can’t go, the Vols are left to throw freshman Justin Worley back into the fray and hope he learned something from the loss at Arkansas.

In a rarity for this rivalry, Tennessee goes into the Vanderbilt game with more problems than its in-state rival. The Vols’ running game, much needed to offset Worley’s inexperience under center, has been inconsistent. Tennessee’s defense has been outscored a whopping138-23 in its last four Southeastern Conference games.

The Vols are 0-6 in SEC play for the first time ever and must win their last two games to slip into a lower-tier bowl game. The two teams remaining on the schedule – Vanderbilt and Kentucky – have been considered automatic November wins in years past, with Tennessee posting 26 consecutive wins against Kentucky, the longest win streak of any annual NCAA Division I series.

The Commodores, for once, have better odds of getting into a bowl game.

At 5-5, Vandy needs a win at either Tennessee or Wake Forest to become bowl eligible in James Franklin’s first year as head coach.

Other than his decision to start the season with Larry Smith at quarterback instead of Jordan Rodgers, Franklin has had an outstanding year. He’s done good job thus far of changing the “same old Vanderbilt” mentality that has haunted the program for the better part of 40 seasons.

That’s not an easy task with a program in which losing has become second nature, where coach after coach has failed to win consistently.

Now it’s Franklin’s turn to show whether his idea of being “all in” at Vandy really has merit or is just another unfulfilled promise. The fact that many believe Vanderbilt is the better team going into to Saturday’s game puts the Commodores in unfamiliar territory against their arch-rival, a program that expects to win its rivalry games.

Just how far Franklin has brought the Commodores in a short time will be measured Saturday night against the Vols.

Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com and is the AFC blogger for National Football Post.