Volunteers to 1985 Sugar Bowl

#3
#3
Lars said:
I hope you ladies and gentlemen can abide a story about our team's doings, thirty-eight years ago.

1985 Vols were sweet as Sugar
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Excellent article by one of the best KNS journalists I’ve seen in my lifetime. Fortunately, I was there and able to experience that game in all its glory. I was in a shop on Bourbon Street two days before the game, and I asked a lady what the “U” stood for on her shirt. The response was X-rated.
 
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#7
#7
"Team of Destiny". I had a t-shirt with that. Dale Jones (LB) is one of my all-time favorite defensive players.

William Powell (RB x-fer from William and Mary) ran the most beautiful 60 yard run for a TD I've ever seen. He literally smoked two Miami DBs that couldn't converge (make the angle) to tackle him. His speed was phenomenal.

Tim McGhee was the smoothest of WRs.
 
#9
#9
GreveHaller said:
There was no one left in the state of Tennessee. You would walk 2 blocks on Bourbon St and see someone you knew
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Yeah, that was crazy. Had to be 60k to Miami’s 6k in the dome.

Saw Bobby Scott at Pat O’s and introduced myself. He bought me a hurricane and asked me to join them at the table.
 
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#10
#10
I was there, My mother video taped the game back in Knoxville for me...I didn't see me but I saw my girlfriend who was a majorette at the time...Bourbon Street was pure madness after that game...Just a sea of Orange and White...I bought so many tee shirts after that game lol
 
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#11
#11
utvols74 said:
"Team of Destiny". I had a t-shirt with that. Dale Jones (LB) is one of my all-time favorite defensive players.

William Powell (RB x-fer from William and Mary) ran the most beautiful 60 yard run for a TD I've ever seen. He literally smoked two Miami DBs that couldn't converge (make the angle) to tackle him. His speed was phenomenal.

Tim McGhee was the smoothest of WRs.
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Jeff Powell.. He's was superman that night. I can still see him blowing down the field...it was glorious
 
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#12
#12
Was a great but somewhat up and down season. Went to a several games that year including the Sugar Bowl. That opener (tie) with UCLA felt like a loss. The Bruins scored late twice and made both two point conversions. Another heartbreaker in the heat at Florida. Almost got busted for buying scalped tickets - apparently against the law there at the time. Great wins over both Alabama teams was highlight of the season. The team was playing at a very high level coming down the stretch. The defense in particular was playing with a chip on their shoulder. In last regular season game against Vandy the game was well in hand when the Commodore FB broke a draw play that looked like it might go all the way. Terry McDaniel was in man coverage on the visitor sideline and the Vandy FB was mid field and had a good 15 yard up the field. It looked like Terry ran 40 yards before their FB ran the next 10 and made the tackle and snuffed the drive. Remember that game well largely because it was one of the last I went to with my dad. Went to NOLA hoping we would represent well but hardly expecting to win. My brother called me a few nights before the game and told me all the "smart money" was taking the points and the Vols. He wasn't a gambler himself but knew some bookies that liked the Vols. After Miami scored on their first drive about 2-3 minutes in, was wondering just how smart the "smart money" was. Anyway it was all Vols from there and I have often wondered why Johnny chose to take a knee on the last couple of plays inside the Hurricane 10 up 35-7 as the game ended.
 
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#15
#15
I couldn't forget. I was in the Navy in Okinawa, Japan. My best friend had three separate $100 bets on Tennessee to beat Miami. I told him he was an idiot taking all those bets as Miami was heavily favored, had clobbered Notre Dame (IIRC), rarely lost and had a national champion possibility on the line. He was sure UT would win. I was sure he was insane (or drunk). He was hooting and hollering in the morning, having heard the game before it was recast on the base television. Crazy fool, but he sure stunned me.
Mark Hovanic and Dale Jones had Testaverde running for his life and badly shaken after multiple huge sack losses.
 
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#16
#16
1974Vol said:
Was a great but somewhat up and down season. Went to a several games that year including the Sugar Bowl. That opener (tie) with UCLA felt like a loss. The Bruins scored late twice and made both two point conversions. Another heartbreaker in the heat at Florida. Almost got busted for buying scalped tickets - apparently against the law there at the time. Great wins over both Alabama teams was highlight of the season. The team was playing at a very high level coming down the stretch. The defense in particular was playing with a chip on their shoulder. In last regular season game against Vandy the game was well in hand when the Commodore FB broke a draw play that looked like it might go all the way. Terry McDaniel was in man coverage on the visitor sideline and the Vandy FB was mid field and had a good 15 yard up the field. It looked like Terry ran 40 yards before their FB ran the next 10 and made the tackle and snuffed the drive. Remember that game well largely because it was one of the last I went to with my dad. Went to NOLA hoping we would represent well but hardly expecting to win. My brother called me a few nights before the game and told me all the "smart money" was taking the points and the Vols. He wasn't a gambler himself but knew some bookies that liked the Vols. After Miami scored on their first drive about 2-3 minutes in, was wondering just how smart the "smart money" was. Anyway it was all Vols from there and I have often wondered why Johnny chose to take a knee on the last couple of plays inside the Hurricane 10 up 35-7 as the game ended.
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That was the first season I was able to see a game in Neyland. My first was the Ga Tech game and Vandy was the second. The Vandy rb was running straight towards me when McDaniel ran him down. He was greased lightning
 
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#17
#17
1974Vol said:
Was a great but somewhat up and down season. Went to a several games that year including the Sugar Bowl. That opener (tie) with UCLA felt like a loss. The Bruins scored late twice and made both two point conversions. Another heartbreaker in the heat at Florida. Almost got busted for buying scalped tickets - apparently against the law there at the time. Great wins over both Alabama teams was highlight of the season. The team was playing at a very high level coming down the stretch. The defense in particular was playing with a chip on their shoulder. In last regular season game against Vandy the game was well in hand when the Commodore FB broke a draw play that looked like it might go all the way. Terry McDaniel was in man coverage on the visitor sideline and the Vandy FB was mid field and had a good 15 yard up the field. It looked like Terry ran 40 yards before their FB ran the next 10 and made the tackle and snuffed the drive. Remember that game well largely because it was one of the last I went to with my dad. Went to NOLA hoping we would represent well but hardly expecting to win. My brother called me a few nights before the game and told me all the "smart money" was taking the points and the Vols. He wasn't a gambler himself but knew some bookies that liked the Vols. After Miami scored on their first drive about 2-3 minutes in, was wondering just how smart the "smart money" was. Anyway it was all Vols from there and I have often wondered why Johnny chose to take a knee on the last couple of plays inside the Hurricane 10 up 35-7 as the game ended.
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Coach Donahue designed a special defense for that game. I ask him one time did he have second thoughts after that TD over the top (I’m thinking it was Andre Cramer who was defending and got confused) seemed to easy. He said he did for a moment but soon realized they had worked too hard to abandon it right away. Of course…the blitz package began to totally disrupt Miami and the Vols completely dominated the rest of the game. A great season with many unlikely hero’s!! Thanks for the memory!
 
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#19
#19
utvols74 said:
"Team of Destiny". I had a t-shirt with that. Dale Jones (LB) is one of my all-time favorite defensive players.

William Powell (RB x-fer from William and Mary) ran the most beautiful 60 yard run for a TD I've ever seen. He literally smoked two Miami DBs that couldn't converge (make the angle) to tackle him. His speed was phenomenal.

Tim McGhee was the smoothest of WRs.
Click to expand...
And that destiny manifested itself in many ways, including Florida being on probation allowing us to go to the Sugar Bowl and win the conference in the first place.
 
#20
#20
1974Vol said:
Was a great but somewhat up and down season. Went to a several games that year including the Sugar Bowl. That opener (tie) with UCLA felt like a loss. The Bruins scored late twice and made both two point conversions. Another heartbreaker in the heat at Florida. Almost got busted for buying scalped tickets - apparently against the law there at the time. Great wins over both Alabama teams was highlight of the season. The team was playing at a very high level coming down the stretch. The defense in particular was playing with a chip on their shoulder. In last regular season game against Vandy the game was well in hand when the Commodore FB broke a draw play that looked like it might go all the way. Terry McDaniel was in man coverage on the visitor sideline and the Vandy FB was mid field and had a good 15 yard up the field. It looked like Terry ran 40 yards before their FB ran the next 10 and made the tackle and snuffed the drive. Remember that game well largely because it was one of the last I went to with my dad. Went to NOLA hoping we would represent well but hardly expecting to win. My brother called me a few nights before the game and told me all the "smart money" was taking the points and the Vols. He wasn't a gambler himself but knew some bookies that liked the Vols. After Miami scored on their first drive about 2-3 minutes in, was wondering just how smart the "smart money" was. Anyway it was all Vols from there and I have often wondered why Johnny chose to take a knee on the last couple of plays inside the Hurricane 10 up 35-7 as the game ended.
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Johnny took a knee because he was a great coach and a class person.
Majors was responsible for getting the program back on its feet and he wins 3 SEC titles in 6 seasons.
The University should always be ashamed of how they treated Johnny Majors.
I believe he would have won big through the 90's like Fulmer did if he had remained the head coach.
Fulmer should have stayed as the loyal OC and taken his turn as head coach when Johnny chose to retire.
Karma comes back double sometimes and we eventually paid for the "Majors Curse" as the program declined after 2001 and became dysfunctional in the 2010's.
 
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#21
#21
GreveHaller said:
There was no one left in the state of Tennessee. You would walk 2 blocks on Bourbon St and see someone you knew
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Saw my first cousin there after the game. We were cheering & laughing, & he shouted: "Testeverde might wanna take up tennis after this". What a great night! :cool:
 
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#22
#22
GreveHaller said:
There was no one left in the state of Tennessee. You would walk 2 blocks on Bourbon St and see someone you knew
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There was definitely a ton of VOL fans. We were in a group of 18 and met another group of 12 from home. Orange everywhere in The Quarter. It was a party! I was hungover for 3 days! Great road trip, one of my favorites.
 
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#23
#23
There was a street musician playing the saxophone in the middle of the Burbon Street and it was like he was playing Rocky Top for two days straight. A couple of Miami fans walked by and put a few dollars in to play the Miami fight song (whatever that is). He wasn't 15 seconds in and a Tennessee fan came up, put a 20 in the hat, and said I want to hear Rocky Top. The guy stopped immediately and began playing Rocky Top again.

Anyone who claims there was even close to one Miami fan to every 10 Tennessee fans wasn't there.
 
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#24
#24
I was there, in New Orleans, loge seats in the Super Dome on Jan. 1, 1986. The Vols revealed that the “Emperor” had no clothes.
 
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#25
#25
Carl Pickens said:
That was the first season I was able to see a game in Neyland. My first was the Ga Tech game and Vandy was the second. The Vandy rb was running straight towards me when McDaniel ran him down. He was greased lightning
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My first game in the stadium as well. I just remember dad was frustrated. I was still learning the game, but thought the car on the field was neat.
 
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