Countdown to Kickoff vs South Carolina

202 days.......

Early in November of 1978, the Vols hosted the Duke Blue Devils. Jimmy Streater had one of his best games of the season. Streater ran for 81 yrds and a touchdown and was 11-15 passing for 202 yards, including a 66 yard TD to Garry Moore. Streater was named the AP Southern back of the week for his performance in the 34-0 victory.
6B1C3F92-B457-483E-987E-061ACF93AB5E.png
 
During the 1978 season, I was a "broilerman" - principal cook at the Copper Cellar. One Saturday with an afternoon home game (anyone remember which ones had an afternoon start?), between 4pm & midnight, we served 440 cooked to order meals in a restaurant with 97 seats, including every stool at the bar. The record was never broken in the restaurant's original configuration.
 
Enjoying all the memories of great Saturdays of Vols History.

Btw: Congrats on Thursday's win. (Yeah, I know, it's taken me three days to respond.)
Any win against Mu**ay is nice. Looks like the final game of the season will determine conference championship. Will be fun as always up there. Y’all have a great place to watch basketball.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MAD and OneManGang
201 days.......

In the final game of the ‘75 season, the Vols traveled to Hawaii to play the Rainbow Warriors. Stanley Morgan helped ease the pain of a disappointing season with a then record 201 yards rushing on 11 carries and 2 TDs. He also scored on a 63 yrd punt return to cap off a 28-6 victory.
F3032C0C-9962-4AAA-937D-0537A981E030.png
 
200 days.........

One week after Chuck Webb was lost for the ‘90 season vs Pacific, Tony Thompson showed that he was ready to carry the load. Thompson ran for 248 yrds in the next game @ Mississippi State, and would lead the SEC in rushing with 1,261(105.1 per game). In the first half vs MSU, Thompson set a UT record for most rushing yards in a half with 200 yrds. He had TDs of 80 yrds and 69 yrds in the 40-7 victory.

Thompson’s famous “juke” on the 69 yrd td
1CEBB020-1982-4629-9E70-A62817B6A1D9.png8B4AB2EB-3AA3-4A74-8252-6F8207741C30.png
 
199 days........

Peerless Price was too obvious......

From 1981-1983, Chuck Coleman had the unfortunate distinction of having Johnnie Jones in the backfield with him. Coleman was a quality running back that could have started for a lot of programs, but still had some very special moments as a Vol. His 34 yard TD vs Bama in ‘82 will live in Vols fans hearts forever. During his career, Coleman rushed for 932 yards on 199 carries and 7 TDs.

D95699DC-C8E8-4830-89FD-EEBB306C2A9B.png
 
Last edited:
198 days.......

The only bad thing about Derek Barnett is that he went to Brentwood Academy! 😁 From 2014-2016, Derek was a terror at Defensive End. In his first year, he set the SEC freshman record with 10 sacks. He followed that up with 23 more in his last two seasons. He ended his career with 33 sacks (UT record), 52 tackles for loss, and 198 career tackles. He was the 14th pick in the ‘17 NFL Draft by the Eagles.


741108CF-CC86-493E-A5F4-3306CBAACB36.png
 
197 days...........

In 2002, Greg Schiano and Rutgers visited Knoxville. Behind 14-7 at the half, UT exploded for 28 second half points to win 35-14. The surge was led by Kelley Washington, who finished the game with 7 receptions for 197 yrds and a touchdown. Washington had receptions of 52,48, and 58 (TD) yards, all in the second half.
36F98C9B-95AD-46BA-B30B-3FA10285A1A7.png
 
I was at that game and was properly appalled that the Vols managed only 95 rushing yards - most of them late. Both Buffalo and *shudders* Villanova outgained the Vols on the ground against Rutgers in prior games. Two bad calls saved the Vols that night: a truly terrible call cost the Scarlet Knights a THIRD TD right before half and then the zebras gave Jason Witten a TD catch that was highly questionable in the 3rd Canto.

Kelley "The Future" Washington was possibly the only player in Vol history with an ego bigger than Carl Pickens.
 
I was at that game and was properly appalled that the Vols managed only 95 rushing yards - most of them late. Both Buffalo and *shudders* Villanova outgained the Vols on the ground against Rutgers in prior games. Two bad calls saved the Vols that night: a truly terrible call cost the Scarlet Knights a THIRD TD right before half and then the zebras gave Jason Witten a TD catch that was highly questionable in the 3rd Canto.

Kelley "The Future" Washington was possibly the only player in Vol history with an ego bigger than Carl Pickens.
For some really odd reason, UT has NEVER played well vs Rutgers.

This game, a 14-7 loss, and a 7-0 win. :oops:
 
196 days.......

In 1997, the 3-7 Commodores visited the #3 ranked Vols. Vandy scored first and last, but the Vols scored enough in between to eke out a 17-10 victory. Manning had one of his weakest games of his career, but the Vols dominated time-of-possession, due to Jamal Lewis’ 36 carries for 196 yrds rushing.
000626FC-A43E-46A2-BACB-56BEF0F061D0.png
 
Last edited:
195 days........

The 1958 season was a difficult one at 4-6, but the Vols did defeat 3 top 20 teams. During the 13-8 win over #11 Mississippi State, Murray Armstrong scored both touchdowns. One was a 15 yrd reception and the other was a 53 yrd interception return.

For the season, the Vols only averaged 48 yrds passing per game, with Murray leading UT with 14 receptions for 195 yards and 1 TD.

Armstrong’s TD vs Mississippi State
E0DE970D-2A74-48BB-B4EB-299537D17854.jpeg
 
194 days.......

From 1973-1976, Andy Spiva was a pure tackling machine. His 547 career tackles are 122 more than any other player in UT history. In 1976, Spiva totaled 194 tackles, setting a Tennessee single season record. Spiva was a 2x All-SEC linebacker and was drafted by the St Louis Cardinals. He was picked up by the Falcons and played 13 games in ‘77. He missed the ‘78 season with a knee injury and was scheduled to start in ‘79, but was tragically killed in a car crash before the season.


670D9DCA-4EAB-45A1-8250-CDAFD92A32DA.png
 
192 days......

From 1975-1978, Frank Foxx played tailback and fullback for Coach Battle and Coach Majors. A big back with speed, his career was derailed by constant injuries. When he was able to play, Foxx was a consistent player. For his career, he rushed for 937 yards and 13 TDs, on 192 carries (5 yrd avg).
8D9A5079-EE4C-43B9-AA3C-A516A1B1D2D2.png
 
191 days......

Jermaine Copeland came to Tennessee in 1995 as a quarterback, but moved to wide receiver full time in 1997. In 1996, Copeland did a little of everything. He threw for 85 yrds, ran for 72 yrds, returned 11 punts for 113 yrds, and had 16 receptions for 191 yards. Copeland would play an important role in the ‘98 National Championship season, and would go on to play for 3 professional football leagues (NFL Europe, XFL, and CFL.) He was an all-star in the CFL, and currently the WR coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

1443D93D-73C7-4CE7-8343-8F78C7B0D74A.png
 
190 days.......

The ‘84 regular season ended in Nashville with a 29-13 victory over Vanderbilt. Johnnie Jones nailed down the SEC rushing crown, Tony Robinson broke Jimmy Streater’s single season total yardage record, and Tim McGee broke Larry Seivers single season reception record. McGee had 10 receptions for 190 yards and 2 touchdowns, in the victory.
F45F486E-B8B9-4EB1-A48B-B9F65B6FF2ED.jpeg
 
189 days......

After defeating Alabama in ‘83, many expected a let down vs Georgia Tech, but Alan Cockrell wouldn’t let that happen. Cockrell completed 12 passes for 189 yards and two long touchdowns to Lenny Taylor and Clyde Duncan, in the Vols 37-3 victory over the Yellow Jackets. Cockrell was named AP back of the week for the second consecutive week.

8E94F610-1984-4C8E-840C-7690EC04C43B.png
 
Last edited:
188 days.....

From ‘95-‘98, Jeff Hall made kicks that led the Vols to victories and championships. Hall finished his career as UT’s all time leading scorer with 371 points. He made 61 FG’s and 188 PAT’s during his illustrious career.5901ECA6-207F-4C95-8603-10C0CEB91494.png
 
187 days.......

From ‘82-‘85, Tony Robinson set new standards for passing at UT. He threw for 3,332 yards and 23 touchdowns during his career. Although, not known for his running ability, Robinson did rush for 187 career yards and 4TDs, before an injury @ Alabama ended his Tennessee career.

080A1320-565A-40A4-90C0-3E5C257C6CA7.png
 
Tony Robinson is one of the tragic heroes of UT football. He had talent to burn and a tank cannon for an arm. He was destined for a career in the NFL, knee injury not withstanding, and threw it all away. At some point he decided, consciously or not, that he'd rather smoke weed and sell crack than make millions in the pros.

Several years after the '85 season I was watching a replay of his game against Miss State. I sat there in awe having forgotten just how good he really was.

I hire kids like him (without the football talent of course) all the time and it breaks my heart to watch them fail. I give them a shot and counsel them to change and that's really all one can do. Eventually they either stop showing up, or I have to fire them, or both.
 
Tony Robinson is one of the tragic heroes of UT football. He had talent to burn and a tank cannon for an arm. He was destined for a career in the NFL, knee injury not withstanding, and threw it all away. At some point he decided, consciously or not, that he'd rather smoke weed and sell crack than make millions in the pros.

Several years after the '85 season I was watching a replay of his game against Miss State. I sat there in awe having forgotten just how good he really was.

I hire kids like him (without the football talent of course) all the time and it breaks my heart to watch them fail. I give them a shot and counsel them to change and that's really all one can do. Eventually they either stop showing up, or I have to fire them, or both.

TR is in my top 5 favorite Vols ever. Loved watching him play and how he cloud “flip it”
60-70 yrds with no effort. Hope his life is now to a point where he is happy.
 

VN Store



Back
Top