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KNOXVILLE -- Bobby Johnson figured Vanderbilt could make it.

The Commodores' coach had his offense rolling against Tennessee. Vandy had just driven 92 yards to tie the score and after a Vols touchdown were once again across midfield, facing fourth-and-2 at the Tennessee 38 with less than a minute to go in the first half.

"I wasn't counting on a whole lot of times getting down there so we felt like we wanted to go for it on fourth down," Johnson said. "In hindsight, probably better to punt it down there and go in down 17-10, but we thought we could make it and we thought we could stop them if we didn't make it."

The Commodores did neither, turning the ball over on downs. Four plays later and Tennessee had an insurmountable two-touchdown lead it would not relinquish in a 31-16 UT win Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.

Johnson's miscalculation wasn't much different from how he figured Vanderbilt (2-10, 0-8 Southeastern Conference) would build on one of the most successful seasons in school history this year. Instead of returning to a bowl, the 'Dores returned to the SEC cellar.

"This definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Vandy linebacker Chris Marve said after recording 11 tackles. "We knew where we wanted to be at the start of the season."

Winless in the conference certainly wasn't it. The 10 losses, including eight straight since Sept. 26, are the most since 2003 when the Commodores had back-to-back two-win seasons. Vanderbilt is winless in the conference for the first time since 2002, Johnson's first year in Nashville. All this following a season where the Commodores won seven games, including last year's Music City Bowl.

"We had our taste of success, so we know what it feels like," cornerback Jamie Graham, who had 10 tackles and an interception, said. "We want to get back to that point. We didn't go into this year knowing we was going to be 2-10. That's definitely not the case."

Vandy also couldn't have expected to be beset with injuries the way it was. Just five players started all 12 games. Graham, also a wideout, had to shift to defense, making 10 tackles and an interception in an emergency start at corner in place of Myron Lewis. Against the Vols (6-4, 3-4), Johnson had to go with two redshirt freshman tackles, Ryan Seymour and Caleb Welchans on offense for most of the second half.

The shining star among the young Commodores is probably tailback Warren Norman. The true freshman broke Herschel Walker's SEC rookie all-purpose yards mark, finishing with 1,926 yard, thanks in part to a 17 carry, 73 yard night against UT.

Johnson said he hopes all that youth can use the experience of this season into a strong campaign next year. Saturday's performance, including four trips to the red zone, signalled to Norman that good times will return.

"This offense has been making tremendous strides since the beginning of this season," Norman said. "Personally, I think we've improved as an offense every week. ... We just came such a long way. It's a shame to end the season now."

Unfortunately for Johnson, the promise of next year, not unlike the potential of this year, doesn't make a 2-10 finish any easier to swallow.

"It's hard to win when you're not executing," Johnson said. "Mistakes kill drives, they kill opportunities. ... Yes, it is (painful). All of our losses are painful."