the 1891 vanderbilt commodores football team represented vanderbilt university during the 1891 college football season. the team's head coach and team captain was elliott h. jones, who served his second season in that capacity. this was the first year that vanderbilt had a schedule of opponents other than the school next door to them. vanderbilt and sewanee, charter members of the southern intercollegiate conference, play their first game. the rivalry, typically reserved for thanksgiving day, continues into world war ii. when the series ended in 1944, vanderbilt owned a 40-8-4 advantage.