The 1986 team

#1
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jasonvols2.2

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#1
I was only 6, so I was a little too young to really remember anything. But, what happened?

They lost to bad teams. (MSU and Army). However, they beat a pretty good Ole Miss team. Wasn't that when Majors started wearing a suit?
 
#2
#2
jasonvols2.2 said:
I was only 6, so I was a little too young to really remember anything. But, what happened?

They lost to bad teams. (MSU and Army). However, they beat a pretty good Ole Miss team. Wasn't that when Majors started wearing a suit?
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Not a good QB situation. 2 underclassmen - Jeff Francis and Randy Sanders - battled for the spot then Jeff won the job.

Army loss was ridiculous. Had it won late in the 4th qtr.

IIRC Dale Jones intercepted a pass on our own 3 yard line within last 2 minutes of game. Offense couldn't move the ball - 3 and out. Instead of having punter take the safety and the sure win, Majors had him punt, punt was blocked Army recovers in the end zone for the win.
 
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#3
#3
Bama also beat us like a drum in Neyland.

First time I can remember my dad leaving a game early. Maybe 28-0 when we left. Final score was 56-28 if I remember correctly.
 
#4
#4
ajvol01 said:
Bama also beat us like a drum in Neyland.

First time I can remember my dad leaving a game early. Maybe 28-0 when we left. Final score was 56-28 if I remember correctly.
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Toss sweep left and toss sweep right all day long... pretty much gained Bama 15 yards a pop.
 
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#5
#5
ajvol01 said:
Bama also beat us like a drum in Neyland.

First time I can remember my dad leaving a game early. Maybe 28-0 when we left. Final score was 56-28 if I remember correctly.
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I wasn't aware that I was your dad, but that remains the only game that I have ever left early. I was with my old U.T. roommate , who lives in Nashville, and we left and went to a bar at the half.
 
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#7
#7
Viewed in the big picture, the first two-thirds of Coach Majors' tenure could be characterized as two slow steps forward, one step back and repeat the cycle. This was evident on a game-to-game basis (i.e. lose to Rutgers, then beat Notre Dame) and season to season, where they slowly improved from 1977-1984, then had the big 1985 season, only to lose traction in '86, rebound to a 10-2-1 record in 1987, and then bottom out with a horrible six-game losing streak to start off the 1988 season. The five-game winning streak that closed out that campaign set us up for a great 1989 season, which marked the beginning of the period of greatest sustained success by Majors at Tennessee. The teams that bookended the 1990 season were absolutely loaded with talent.
 
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#8
#8
Mississippi State wasn't terrible that year. They were decent but hung around all game then won on a long TD run late I believe. Same story for Army. Lost to GT on a FG at the end where Reveiz slipped on wet artificial turf. Got tuned up by auburn and Bama which were both better. 2005 like season.
 
#10
#10
1972 Grad said:
I wasn't aware that I was your dad, but that remains the only game that I have ever left early. I was with my old U.T. roommate , who lives in Nashville, and we left and went to a bar at the half.
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Bobby Humphrey pretty much earned himself his first round pick status that day iirc...Gene Jelks made us look silly too.
 
#11
#11
1972 Grad said:
I wasn't aware that I was your dad, but that remains the only game that I have ever left early. I was with my old U.T. roommate , who lives in Nashville, and we left and went to a bar at the half.
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Haha - close but no cigar.

We listened to the beatdown of the 2nd half on the drive back to Johnson City.
 
#12
#12
butchna said:
Bobby Humphrey pretty much earned himself his first round pick status that day iirc...Gene Jelks made us look silly too.
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Ray Perkins kept Humpreys in thru the 4th qtr. I guess he had a feeling it was his last chance as Bama's coach and might as well go out with a bang.
 
#13
#13
ajvol01 said:
Ray Perkins kept Humpreys in thru the 4th qtr. I guess he had a feeling it was his last chance as Bama's coach and might as well go out with a bang.
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Perkins left for the Tampa Bay job...his stock was pretty decent being a Bear guy...never did much with it.
 
#14
#14
ajvol01 said:
Not a good QB situation. 2 underclassmen - Jeff Francis and Randy Sanders - battled for the spot then Jeff won the job.

Army loss was ridiculous. Had it won late in the 4th qtr.

IIRC Dale Jones intercepted a pass on our own 3 yard line within last 2 minutes of game. Offense couldn't move the ball - 3 and out. Instead of having punter take the safety and the sure win, Majors had him punt, punt was blocked Army recovers in the end zone for the win.
Click to expand...

We were up on Mississippi State 23-14 with five minutes to go. Don Smith threw a TD pass then broke off a 60 yard run (untouched) on a QB keeper around left end with a couple minutes left in the game. That was the beginning of our dual threat quarterback woes.

Army game I lost my lunch, my hat, my dignity and swore to never step foot in Neyland again. Hey I was young and stupid. It was a horrible loss though. Victor Peppers had the interception that should have sealed he win.

Bobby Humphrey toss sweep right game was probably the most demoralizing game ever. We could have taken every player off our bench lined them up on the left side of our defense and Humphrey would still get 10 yards every time.

This was probably the year CJM drinking got out of control. Just for the record the team did finish strong but "they remember what you do in October" certainly didn't apply to the 86 season.
 
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#16
#16
GLDunlap said:
We were up on Mississippi State 23-14 with five minutes to go. Don Smith threw a TD pass then broke off a 60 yard run (untouched) on a QB keeper around left end with a couple minutes left in the game. That was the beginning of our dual threat quarterback woes.

Army game I lost my lunch, my hat, my dignity and swore to never step foot in Neyland again. Hey I was young and stupid. It was a horrible loss though. Victor Peppers had the interception that should have sealed he win.

Bobby Humphrey toss sweep right game was probably the most demoralizing game ever. We could have taken every player off our bench lined them up on the left side of our defense and Humphrey would still get 10 yards every time.

This was probably the year CJM drinking got out of control. Just for the record the team did finish strong but "they remember what you do in October" certainly didn't apply to the 86 season.
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Great post....

I was at the MSU game and Don Smith had been "pitching" it all day to his RB, then.....he suddenly faked the pitch - which all of UT players bit on...and ran to the house. He made us look really silly on that play.
 
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#17
#17
Isn't that the team that started 2-5 because of a rash of injuries, and once they got everyone healthily and Francis settled in at QB they won 5 straight including the Liberty Bowl?
 
#18
#18
BowlBrother85 said:
Toss sweep left and toss sweep right all day long... pretty much gained Bama 15 yards a pop.
Click to expand...

Was there that day. Pretty Accurate description of a team that truly pounded the rock. Bobby Humphries? It was ugly.

I do remember a bomb to Anthony Hancock(?) that came right down in front of me. A lot of air power by us that day iirc.

Also, if anyone remembers, that day I saw one of our wideouts make the most unbelievable acrobatic catch over the middle and got flipped by one or two defenders yet held on. Unfortunately a penalty negated the whole thing. Does anyone remember that? Is there video?
 
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#19
#19
livefaith said:
Was there that day. Pretty Accurate description of a team that truly pounded the rock. Bobby Humphries? It was ugly.

I do remember a bomb to Anthony Hancock(?) that came right down in front of me. A lot of air power by us that day iirc.

Also, if anyone remembers, that day I saw one of our wideouts make the most unbelievable acrobatic catch over the middle and got flipped by one or two defenders yet held on. Unfortunately a penalty negated the whole thing. Does anyone remember that? Is there video?
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Couldn't have been Hancock...he be gone by 86.. Maybe Anthony Miller? Terrance Woods?
 
#20
#20
butchna said:
Couldn't have been Hancock...he be gone by 86.. Maybe Anthony Miller? Terrance Woods?
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It was Anthony Miller. He caught a 70 yard TD pass from Francis. Terrance Cleveland caught a short TD in the game as well. Alabama lead 42-14 at halftime and rushed for 457 yards for the game. This win vaulted the Tide to #2 in the both polls. However, Bama got a taste of humble pie the very next week against eventual champion Penn State 23-3 (Scum of the Earth Sandusky apparently knew how to defend the toss sweep).
 
#21
#21
BowlBrother85 said:
It was Anthony Miller. He caught a 70 yard TD pass from Francis. Terrance Cleveland caught a short TD in the game as well. Alabama lead 42-14 at halftime and rushed for 457 yards for the game. This win vaulted the Tide to #2 in the both polls. However, Bama got a taste of humble pie the very next week against eventual champion Penn State 23-3 (Scum of the Earth Sandusky apparently knew how to defend the toss sweep).
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I recall that game too well, what I liked about it the most was on the TV broadcast, they interviewed Charlie Daniels in the stands about what a huge TENNESSEE fan he was and his love for UT Football. Because, the game on the field wasn't worth watching for the most part.
 
#22
#22
The QB situation was as bad or worse than the whole Rick Clausen, Nick Stephens and Matt Sims experiments of 2004, 2008 and 2010. Those were sad and desperate times as a Vol fan.......

I'm still confused how Fulmer let the Vols get in such horrid QB shape through those years. Yes, they were all his recruits.

Thankfully the Vols had Ainge through some of that or Fulmer wouldn't have lasted as long as he did, IMO.

Had Crompton been coached properly, Fulmer would've possibly kept his job.

Say what you want about the dbag, but Kiffin really coached Crompton up to his strengths......

Back to 1986, the defense was also rached as hell. Awful.
 
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#23
#23
madbamahater said:
The QB situation was as bad or worse than the whole Rick Clausen, Nick Stephens and Matt Sims experiments of 2004, 2008 and 2010. Those were sad and desperate times as a Vol fan.......

I'm still confused how Fulmer let the Vols get in such horrid QB shape through those years. Yes, they were all his recruits.

Thankfully the Vols had Ainge through some of that or Fulmer wouldn't have lasted as long as he did, IMO.

Had Crompton been coached properly, Fulmer would've possibly kept his job.

Say what you want about the dbag, but Kiffin really coached Crompton up to his strengths......

Back to 1986, the defense was also rached as hell. Awful.
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Because, Fulmer was retired on duty after 1998. The program started to decline in 1999, and coutinued through the 2008 season.

The ironic thing is that Fulmer in his last season had started to recruit like days of old regarding the QB's. He had Bryce Petty and Taja Boyd both committed to play at UT. Fulmer was fired in 2008, and Kiffy was brought in and both went elsewhere.

Looking back, maybe it would have been better to stay with Fulmer and his retired on duty approach, because he would have averaged 8-9 wins a season, but no one really knows.

I do know that we have a coach now that has a burning desire to bring TENNESSEE FOOTBALL back to relevancy and prominence, something UT hasn't had since 1993 - 1998.
 
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#24
#24
Yeah, that old "retired on duty" approach from 99-08 led UT to an 85-41 record (.675), 8 bowl games, 6 NYD bowl games, 3 SECCG appearances. 4 times the Vols finished 1st in the East, 3 times they finished 2nd and one time they finished 3rd.

Sure wish, UT had a coach that would "retire on duty" again if that's what it led to. Never have figured out why there are still knuckleheads who take every opportunity to bash a first ballot Hall of Fame coach who loved Tennessee and took the Vols to the greatest heights since Neyland.

As for the 86 Miss State game, after Smith's long TD run for MSU, the Vols drove back down the field and Sanders missed a wide open tight end in the end zone with less than a minute left in the game.
 
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#25
#25
Backwards K said:
Yeah, that old "retired on duty" approach from 99-08 led UT to an 85-41 record (.675), 8 bowl games, 6 NYD bowl games, 3 SECCG appearances. 4 times the Vols finished 1st in the East, 3 times they finished 2nd and one time they finished 3rd.

Sure wish, UT had a coach that would "retire on duty" again if that's what it led to. Never have figured out why there are still knuckleheads who take every opportunity to bash a first ballot Hall of Fame coach who loved Tennessee and took the Vols to the greatest heights since Neyland.

As for the 86 Miss State game, after Smith's long TD run for MSU, the Vols drove back down the field and Sanders missed a wide open tight end in the end zone with less than a minute left in the game.
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Amen.
 
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