Poll: Best or most impressive single-game performance by Tennessee as a team ever?

Best or most impressive single-game performance by Tennessee as a team ever?

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#54
#54
The Ron Mexico said:
i agree. I think we all remember the happiness that ran through our hearts after that 1928 win.
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Mr. Mexico,you dissapoint me. Does Sergeant York's exploits from 1918 have no meaning simply because we are of a new generation? Do you not claim the NCs from 39 & 51? I only started watching the Vols heavily in 88,but I love to read about our history. I know you're just being funny. I can appreciate humor as well. We have the Endzone for that. GO VOLS!
 
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#55
#55
RichRollin said:
Beating LSU and Billy Cannon wasn't bad...
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Yep, that is our other victory over a number one-ranked team. Another big victory from that era, which is lost in the proverbial shuffle now, was the 1956 Georgia Tech game. It was a radically different brand of football then, but this matchup pitted the numbers 2 and 3 ranked teams. Tennessee would ultimately win 6-0 in a classic that “was voted the second best game in college football history” by Sports Illustrated's 100th Anniversary of College Football issue (published in 1969).

Going back a few years earlier, there was a huge game against Kentucky, which set the stage for the 1951 Cotton Bowl victory over Texas. The 1950 Kentucky game was, arguably, the most important in the series’ history and almost certainly the only one in which both teams were then ranked in the top 10. Kentucky was undefeated and ranked #3, whereas we were 9th. Tennessee beat Kentucky 7-0 and finished 4th and 3rd, respectively, in the final AP and UPI polls, which, unfortunately, were released November 27th, even before the regular season had concluded. Army, which finished 2nd in the AP poll, lost to unranked Navy 14-2. Under the current format, Tennessee would have unquestionably won the national title since Kentucky beat top-ranked Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl and we beat 3rd-ranked Texas (2nd in the UPI) 20-14 in the Cotton Bowl.
 
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#56
#56
The 1939 Orange Bowl certainly qualifies as one of the great wins of the Neyland era. Tennessee defeated 4th-ranked Oklahoma, 17-0, to cap a perfect 11-0 season (1938), one in which we surrendered only 16 points and shut out eight opponents, including the last five.

This game also propelled the Orange Bowl into the ranks of "major bowls." The story behind the matchup is noteworthy: "It took some marketing and public relations moves by the OBC's Ernie Seiler to bring the Sooners to South Florida. Seiler went to Norman and covered the campus with posters of palm trees, beaches, and Miami's young women. After a stirring pep talk to the OU squad, the Sooners voted to accept the Orange Bowl offer over more lucrative ones from the Cotton, Rose, and Sugar Bowls. Seiler then asked Oklahoma head coach Tom Stidham to call his friend, head coach Bob Neyland at Tennessee, to set up the match-up. When Neyland accepted, the Orange Bowl had the game of the year. Oklahoma had recorded eight shutouts in its 10-0 season, while the Volunteers had seven in their 10-0 campaign" (1939 - Orange Bowl History | Orange Bowl).

The game itself turned out to be an absolute slobberknocker. "The teams racked up a total of 242 yards in penalties, and several players were ejected from the game." Tennessee not only prevailed but dominated, holding Oklahoma to 6 first downs, 25 yards rushing and a total of 94 yards offense, while Tennessee ran for 197 yards.
 
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#57
#57
Volosaurus rex said:
Excellent points indeed. There have been so many great team performances over the years that it is almost impossible to limit selections to only 10 and still provide a truly representative sample, particularly in a historical sense. I felt compelled to stretch the pool of candidates at least to include the Dickey and early Battle years, since there are a number of "gray beard" contributors, like myself, who have followed the program that long or longer.

With respect to the '03 Alabama game, it was a true classic . . . but it was played against what would eventually prove to be a 4-9 Alabama team. I do believe, however, that it is time, particularly for the benefit of our younger readers, to begin discussion of some of the earlier great performances in Tennessee history.

If we stay with Alabama as a theme, let us begin with the 1928 Alabama game. Arguably the first truly big game in Tennessee football history, the 1928 Alabama game put UT on the proverbial map as a growing regional and, eventually, national power. It also set the stage for The Third Saturday in October’s emergence as the marquis rivalry in Southern football. Tennessee had only won twice in 11 previous meetings and Alabama was heavily favored, coming off of undefeated campaigns and Rose Bowl appearances in both 1925 and 1926. Just prior to kickoff, Neyland employed a psychological stratagem by asking Alabama coach Wallace Wade to shorten quarters in the second half if the score should get out of hand. Instead, Gene McEver proceeded to shock the Tide by returning the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and, later, caught a scoring pass from Bobby Dodd to virtually beat Alabama singlehandedly as the Vols went on to upset the Crimson Tide, 15-13.

The 1970 Alabama game was another impressive performance. Talent discrepancies were more pronounced, however, as Alabama was down just a bit at that time, which was just before the Bear installed his wishbone offense. In a stifling defensive performance, UT shut out Alabama 24-0 and intercepted eight passes. The Big Orange would go on to lead the nation with 36 pass interceptions that year.
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Been reading Bebb recently? I just finished The Big Orange, great book.
 
#59
#59
Ericvol2096 said:
I picked 2001 Florida.

We were 18 point underdogs on the road in the Swamp during Spurrier's prime.

That was just an epic all-time win with what was at stake.

If we went on to beat LSU the next week that would be talked about as the best game in TN history.
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That was my pick as well.

UT dominated both lines of scrimmage, and if not for a favorable call or two, the game isn't as close as it was. I recall Grossman getting bailed out on an incompletion call when it was clear he fumbled.
 
#61
#61
Nobody ever remembers the 1980 Tennessee-Auburn game. 42-0, Vols.
Probably the most perfect a UT team ever played.
 
#63
#63
Off topic but I believe we are going to have some more impressive games to talk about in a few short years. For the first time in a long time Tennessee feels like Tennessee. I think Butch and staff is just what the doctor ordered.
 
#64
#64
volboy81 said:
Nobody ever remembers the 1980 Tennessee-Auburn game. 42-0, Vols.
Probably the most perfect a UT team ever played.
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Unfortunately, that game gets lost within the context of two teams pitted against each other that would ultimately post identical 5-6 records. For those of us who possess a Cafegoesque contempt for Vanderbilt, victories over DiNardo-coached teams, particularly in 1991 (45-0), 1993 (62-14) and 1994 (65-0) were particularly sweet. In the '91 game, we had three running backs who went over the 100-yard mark: Little Man Stewart (145), Aaron Hayden (115) and Mose Phillips (107). As a bit of trivia, there have been fourteen games in which we had two running backs who gained 100 or more yards on the ground, but that '91 Vanderbilt game was the only one in which we had three.
 
#65
#65
volboy81 said:
Nobody ever remembers the 1980 Tennessee-Auburn game. 42-0, Vols.
Probably the most perfect a UT team ever played.
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Was that the game at auburn where the fans pelted our players with oranges before the game?
 
#66
#66
Gramps said:
Off topic but I believe we are going to have some more impressive games to talk about in a few short years. For the first time in a long time Tennessee feels like Tennessee. I think Butch and staff is just what the doctor ordered.
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I agree and that will be particularly good for young Tennessee fans. When you have followed a program for nearly half a century, you develop a fundamentally different perspective when you see every program in the country rise, then fall, then rise and fall again. You develop a greater appreciation for the cyclic nature of these things. And odds are that such a trend will become even more typical as few coaches now put in a tenure at one school as long as those of Majors and Fulmer, let alone Neyland, Bryant, Paterno, and Bowden.
 
#68
#68
As is "Football as a war game: The annotated journals of General R.R. Neyland" by Andy Kozar, fullback on the 1951 national championship team and long-time faculty member at UT. Incidentally, it is available at new price for $49.99 from Football as a war game: The annotated journals of General R.R. Neyland: Andy Kozar: 9780972674904: Amazon.com: Books. Usually, you have to pay top dollar on the used book market for this volume; used copies listed on Amazon.com range from $120 up.

Purely as a publication, this is a gilt-edged work of art but, more importantly, this is a truly scholarly work. The following is excerpted from Amazon.com's synopsis: "Football as a War Game is a compilation of the rarely before seen handwritten journals of General Neyland's entire career at the University of Tennessee. The book offers a very personal look into how he approached the game . It includes his coaching philosophies, practice techniques, play designs and football strategies. Included are over 250 historical photos, 200+ digitally reproduced journal pages, detailed explanations by Andy Kozar which give the reader better insight into the mindset of General Neyland, early football innovations, diagrams of plays and practice regiments, psychological strategies employed both in game preparation and on the field, strict rules and guidelines for all players as written by Neyland, and hunting and fishing stories from General Neyland. This book has been created in a manner to allow it to be passed on to future generations. The author, Dr. Andy Kozar, is considered to be one of the greatest fullbacks in UT history, All-SEC in 1952, and was an integral member of the 1951 National Championship team. Dr. Kozar spent six years researching and annotating the handwritten journals. As Dr. Kozar states, "this is the origin of Tennessee football in the General's own words, his thoughts on a day to day, game to game basis, as he wrote them on paper."
 
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#69
#69
MyBloodRunnethOrange said:
Without a doubt for me it's the Sugar Bowl victory over Miami. Absolutely nobody gave us a chance in that game for good reason. Miami was easily the best team in the country that year with future pro bowl players all over the field.
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Yeah I would have to agree with this.....exciting game and kinfolks heavily involved in the outcome makes it that much more memorable for me for sure!
 
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