Vanderbilt has been outscored 149-45 against Tennessee in Clark Lea's Vanderbilt tenure.

Lea's in-state rival has been more physical, more fundamentally sound and just flat out better in those games.

That hasn't sat well with Vanderbilt's fourth-year coach.

"I’ve been sick to my stomach the last three years whether it’s been leaving Knoxville or leaving [FirstBank Stadium]," Lea said. "The meaning of this game cuts deep to us."

The meaning cuts particularly deep for Lea, who grew up around the rivalry and played in it. Lea has seen plenty of Tennessee wins, he's seen Derek Mason drenched in Gatorade and he's seen plenty of emotion.

Throughout the last few seasons, Lea has developed some of his own.

"The meaning of this game cuts deep to us," Lea said. "The unique thing about this game is that it’s extremely personal to me because I grew up in this city, I grew up following this program, I played in this program."

Lea's team as a whole takes rewriting the script on the rivalry personally after five-straight Tennessee wins and a lifetime full of an orange-tinted reality.

"Growing up in Tennessee you see a lot of orange, You don't really see a lot of black," Vanderbilt safety CJ Taylor said.

Taylor's teammate Diego Pavia is intent on taking a step towards changing that narrative with a win on Saturday.

Pavia is experiencing the rivalry for the first time, but knows the significance.

"It’s life or death," Pavia said of the rivalry. "That’s how I see it, that’s how I approach it."

Pavia's perception is shaped by what Lea has conveyed to him about the significance of the game that he'll play in on Saturday.

"It means a lot to him and I want to do it for him," Pavia said. "He’s been here for a few years now and it means a lot to him."

What would mean more to Lea than the rivalry itself is his first win as Vanderbilt's head coach over its in-state rivals. With a College Football Playoff berth on the line for Tennessee and the level of athlete that it has on the field, Lea knows that a win will be a tall task.

The fourth-year coach talks about Saturday with intensity, but also with a sense of confidence.

"This needs to be our best week," Lea said. "We’re gonna sprint to the finish and we’re gonna do everything we can to prepare for what is a challenging opponent so that we can have fun on Saturday."