2021 Countdown to Bowling Green

160 days........

The 1951 Vols won the National Championship with great runners like Herky Payne, Andy Kozar, Bert Reichichar, and Hank Lauricella. The stout defense was led by maybe the greatest Vol ever.....Doug Atkins. The Vols didn’t throw the ball much during Neyland’s Wing-T offense, but when they did, they looked for John “Tex” Davis. “Tex” lead the Vols with 8 receptions for 160 yards and 1 TD.

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159 days...........

In 1988, the Vols won their last 5 games to finish 5-6. Keith DeLong was a bright spot. Keith was a team captain, All-SEC, a finalist for the Butkus Award, and an All-American. DeLong had 10 tackles for loss and 159 total tackles, including 23 vs Alabama. Drafted by the 49ers, DeLong won a Super Bowl ring as a rookie.

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158 days........

Heath Shuler threw for over 4,000 yards while at Tennessee. He was the SEC player of the year in ‘93, Heisman Trophy runner-up in ‘93, and was the 3rd pick in the NFL Draft in 1994. Shuler didn’t have to run often, but when he did, he was more than capable. Shuler had 383 yards rushing and 14 career TDs, on 158 carries.

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157 days........

The 1997 SECCG had it all. Big time players making big time plays. A big comeback by the Vols and the 30-29 victory was the cornerstone to the ‘98 National Championship. Forgotten amongst all the stats was the huge game Terri Fair had. Fair set a UT record with 157 punt return yards on 7 attempts, putting UT in great field position.

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157 days........

The 1997 SECCG had it all. Big time players making big time plays. A big comeback by the Vols and the 30-29 victory was the cornerstone to the ‘98 National Championship. Forgotten amongst all the stats was the huge game Terri Fair had. Fair set a UT record with 157 punt return yards on 7 attempts, putting UT in great field position.

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I swear I seen Terry fly, what seemed to be 10ft, through the air and tackle a kick returner during a game. He is one of my favorite Vols.
 
156 days.......

In 1984, Tony Robinson was ready to transfer due to lack of playing time, but was encouraged to stay when Alan Cockrell decided to focus on baseball. In his first year as a starter, he set records for most passing completions and yards in a single game, and led the Vols to a 7-4-1 record. Robinson would finish the season with 156 completions for 1,963 yards and 14 TDs.

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154 days......

JUCO transfers are crap shoots, but UT has had some success in the past. In 1992, a kid transferred in from Scottsdale CC named Charlie Garner. After rushing for over 2,800 yards in two JUCO seasons, Garner proved he could play against DI competition in his first year at Tennessee. Although he only started the last five games, Garner ran for over 900 yards on only 154 carries, including four 100 yard games.

‘92 vs UK
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153 days..........

Randy Wallace had an up and down career for the Vols from 1974-1976. He had a winning record as a starting QB, threw the game winning pass in the Liberty Bowl, and beat Clemson in dramatic fashion........but also lost to North Texas and Vandy. He finished his career 153-301 for 2,356 yards and 13 TDs.

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152 days......

One of the best, and most forgotten, backs in UT history was Curt Watson. In 1971 @ Kentucky, Watson had his best game of the season. The “Crossville Comet” ran 30 times for 152 yards and a 26 yard TD in the Vols 21-7 victory.

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150 days........

In the 1990 Cotton Bowl, Chuck Webb literally put the Vols on his big shoulder pads, and carried them to a 31-27 victory over Arkansas. Webb had 26 carries for 250 yards and 2TDs. Webb had 100 yards at halftime and 150 yards in the second half. He was named Offensive MVP.

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149 days........

In 2015, a young QB came to Knoxville, and was quickly moved to WR. Jauan Jennings started in his first game as a freshman and was productive from the start. He finished his freshman year with a TD pass of 58 yards and had 14 receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown.

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149 days........

In 2015, a young QB came to Knoxville, and was quickly moved to WR. Jauan Jennings started in his first game as a freshman and was productive from the start. He finished his freshman year with a TD pass of 58 yards and had 14 receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown.

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Wonder how he would have panned out as a QB?
 
146 days.......

Only twice since the Single-Wing days has a quarterback led the Vols in rushing. Josh Dobbs in 2016 and Jimmy Streater in 1978. Streater is my favorite Vol and it’s always fun to remember watching him play. He would have been unbelievable in today’s game. In 1978 Streater passed for over 1,400 yards and ran for 593 yards and 10 TDs on 146 carries. Electric is the best word I can use to describe the “Sylva Streak!”

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145 days..........

In 1972, junior tailback Haskel Stanback set the UT record for most yards in a season with 890 yards rushing. It took a 145 yard performance in the last regular season game at Vanderbilt to secure the record. Stanback would also score 13 TDs in ‘72.

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143 days.......

In 1971, the Vols opened with UC Santa Barbara. Coach Battle got to play a lot of players in the mismatch. Back up running back, Bill Rudder made the most of his opportunity in his first college game. Rudder had 14 carries for 143 yards and a 24 yard TD, in the 48-6 victory.

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142 days........

Ya get a 2fer today.....

Halloween, 2009, UT hosted USCe. Jonathan Crompton and the Vols warmed up as usual in traditional orange jerseys, but came out before game time in black tops for the first time since 1922. Crompton didn’t light up the statistics, but did what was needed in the 31-13 victory. Crompton was 12-24 for 142 yards and 2 TDs.

Also, during the 2009 season, Crompton attempted 142 consecutive passes without and interception. That is the 3rd most in UT history.

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141 days.........

In the final game of 2000, Travis Henry had a field day against Vandy. Henry would run for 184 yards and 2 TDs in the 28-26 victory. What was so special about the performance was he ran for 141 yards in the 2nd half.

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