Today in UT Football history

[peaygolf]

Was this the game Robert Edward's ran wild until he was injured?

Good memory!

156 yards through 3 quarters

 

[JBD_Vol]

Wasn't this game the one where Shuler threw INT and receiver (Fleming?) stripped it back?

 

[peaygolf]

September 13, 1975

UT - 26
Maryland- 8

These two teams had just met in the Liberty Bowl the year before, with the Vols winning 7-3, and now Tennessee was opening their season ranked No. 20 and hosting the No. 14 ranked Maryland Terrapins.

The Terps were led by head coach Jerry Claiborne and had just beaten Villanova in their season opener, and the Vols were led by Bill Battle in his sixth season as head coach, but they had to replace Condredge Holloway at quarterback.

They still had Stanley Morgan, and that made all the difference.

Tennessee capitalized off of an early Maryland turnover for a 7-0 lead, and after surrendering a safety on a punt, they forced another turnover which led to a 50 yard Morgan TD run to go up 13-2.

A 70 yard Morgan punt return touchdown gave the Vols a 19-2 lead at halftime, and then a third touchdown for Morgan helped the Vols built a 26-2 lead.

Maryland cut the lead to 26-8 in the fourth quarter, but they did not come any closer. That was the best they could do, and Tennessee had a very impressive opening victory after Holloway was gone.

 

[OneManGang]

Had the interwebs existed in 1975. it would have been pointed out that Battle and his staff had done such a pi**-poor job recruiting that the Vols had to convert an All-World wide receiver into a tailback.

Morgan did say later that playing tailback in the SEC toughened him up for the NFL. He still leads the NFL in yards per reception with a 19.2 yard average among receivers with over 500 catches.

 

[OneManGang]

1975 was also the year of the infamous North Texas State game that signaled the beginning of the end of the Bill Battle reign.

In my mind though, not only was it my freshman year on The Hill, but also marks one of my favorite Neyland Memories. Vanderbilt was leading at half on their way to a 17-14 win. It was overcast and cold with rain off and on. My Brother-from-another-mother and I were sitting on the first row of student seats behind a set of wooden bleachers that were in front of that. The POTSMB was in formation playing the Alma Mater when the Vandy players ran onto the field, running through the formation and knocking a couple of band members down. Pure Vandy class on display. Anyway, there was a character in the bleachers who had obviously been imbibing a goodly amount of "anti-freeze" and took offense at these actions. He rose, weaving a bit, and bellowed, "You damn MFers! That's our damn Alma Mater! Take your Fing hats off!!"

Still makes me laugh after all these years.

 

[Tin Man]

1975 was also the year of the infamous North Texas State game that signaled the beginning of the end of the Bill Battle reign.

In my mind though, not only was it my freshman year on The Hill, but also marks one of my favorite Neyland Memories. Vanderbilt was leading at half on their way to a 17-14 win. It was overcast and cold with rain off and on. My Brother-from-another-mother and I were sitting on the first row of student seats behind a set of wooden bleachers that were in front of that. The POTSMB was in formation playing the Alma Mater when the Vandy players ran onto the field, running through the formation and knocking a couple of band members down. Pure Vandy class on display. Anyway, there was a character in the bleachers who had obviously been imbibing a goodly amount of "anti-freeze" and took offense at these actions. He rose, weaving a bit, and bellowed, "You damn MFers! That's our damn Alma Mater! Take your Fing hats off!!"

Still makes me laugh after all these years.

Ah, my younger classmate, you would bring up the North Texas State game, which I had the misfortune of witnessing in person. One could almost hear the closing bell on Battle’s tenure when the Tennessee QB took the snap and threw the ball out of bounds to stop the clock while time had expired and two open Vols receivers looked on from the end zone.

 

[MAD]

1975 was also the year of the infamous North Texas State game that signaled the beginning of the end of the Bill Battle reign.

In my mind though, not only was it my freshman year on The Hill, but also marks one of my favorite Neyland Memories. Vanderbilt was leading at half on their way to a 17-14 win. It was overcast and cold with rain off and on. My Brother-from-another-mother and I were sitting on the first row of student seats behind a set of wooden bleachers that were in front of that. The POTSMB was in formation playing the Alma Mater when the Vandy players ran onto the field, running through the formation and knocking a couple of band members down. Pure Vandy class on display. Anyway, there was a character in the bleachers who had obviously been imbibing a goodly amount of "anti-freeze" and took offense at these actions. He rose, weaving a bit, and bellowed, "You damn MFers! That's our damn Alma Mater! Take your Fing hats off!!"

Still makes me laugh after all these years.

The silence of the fans leaving Neyland is something I’ll never forget. I think we were all in shock.

 

[peaygolf]

The silence of the fans leaving Neyland is something I’ll never forget. I think we were all in shock.

Glad I missed that game..........Must've been like Rutgers in '79

 

[ZZ13]

Ah, my younger classmate, you would bring up the North Texas State game, which I had the misfortune of witnessing in person. One could almost hear the closing bell on Battle’s tenure when the Tennessee QB took the snap and threw the ball out of bounds to stop the clock while time had expired and two open Vols receivers looked on from the end zone.

A tradition repeated by Tony Robinson against Kentucky in 1984. Their last win against us before our 26 game win streak against them. I was at both of those games. Was also a freshman in 1975.

 

[peaygolf]

September 14, 1968

UT - 17
Georgia- 17

In the press box high above Neyland Stadium, a young broadcaster with a background in advertising was setting up to call his first football game with the Vol Network.

On the field, newly painted artificial turf was getting ready to make its first debut in a southern college football game.

Throughout the stadium, cameras labeled ‘ABC Sports’ were prepped to begin airing a nationwide broadcast of a classic SEC contest.

In the locker room beneath the stands, an African-American wide receiver from Antioch, Tennessee was about to break barriers.

For John Ward, Lester McClain and the Tennessee football program, the 1968 game between The Vols and Georgia Bulldogs was a game of firsts.

The Turf

The ‘68 game was interesting because we put down artificial turf,” Bud Ford (UT SID) said. “The turf got an affectionate name, ‘Doug’s Rug’ after coach Dickey. We put that down. We were playing on national television against Georgia for the opening game of the season.”

The game marked the first ever college football game played on artificial turf in the South. In fact, very few programs in college football and beyond played on artificial surfaces.

The Voice

Over thirty years before he would be regarded as the iconic ‘Voice of the Vols,’ John Ward prepared to call his first ever football game in place of George Mooney, who had decided to retire after a lengthy career following the 1967 season.

“John Ward had been doing basketball,” Ford recalled. “George Mooney’s color guy was Bob Fox, who was a three-sport athlete at Tennessee. He had a situation, healthwise and he wasn’t able to do the games anymore, and I think George Mooney decided (1967) would be their last year, so John moved over and started doing football.”

And so the ‘voice’ and his longtime color analyst and former Tennessee player Bill Anderson kicked off a 30-year run on the airwaves throughout Tennessee, from Johnson City to Memphis.

The Trailblazer

Lester McClain was one of two African-American athletes to join the Tennessee football team prior to the 1967 season. He joined Albert Davis who was from nearby Alcoa. They were the pioneers.

Davis who was a highly touted and sought after recruit at running back, but could not qualify academically and had his scholarship offer pulled, leaving McClain as the lone minority on the team.

The Game

The game featured the previous two SEC champions, with Georgia winning it in 1966 and Tennessee winning it in 1967.

Due to the alignment of the SEC in those days, It was also the first time in 31 years that the two programs had met and the first that featured two young, promising coaches in the early stages of their careers in Vince Dooley of Georgia and Doug Dickey of Tennessee.

The Vols took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs pulled in front in the second half with a field goal and a 90-yard punt return touchdown by safety Jake Scott to pull ahead 10-7.

Behind quarterback Bubba Wyche, Tennessee drove down the field on the ensuing drive only to cough up the ball at the goal line and give it back to Georgia.

A touchdown there might have changed the outcome of the game, but on the following play, the Vols defense came up with a big safety with linebacker Steve Kiner sacking Bulldogs’ quarterback Donnie Thompson in the endzone..

Georgia appeared to put things away in the fourth quarter as running back Bruce Kemp blasted through Tennessee’s defense for an 80-yard touchdown to make it a 17-9 game.

Things were looking bleak, as Wyche and the offense were faced with an 80-yard field and in need of a touchdown and a two-point conversion to have a chance.

With just 2:41 left on the clock, Wyche and company engineered a drive that 60,000 fans in the newly renovated Neyland Stadium wouldn’t soon forget.

Facing a fourth down, the Vols needed to move the sticks to keep their hopes of a tie alive. That’s when McClain came to the rescue, hauling in a pass for a first down.

A few plays later, Wyche found Gary Kreis in the endzone as time expired. The scoreboard read 17-15.

“The ‘68 team was still good,” Ford said. “Georgia was a good team at that time, too. The game went down to the last play on a do-or-die fourth down...There was only a minute or two left before that drive. They had us on the run.”

Tennessee would have a shot at the tie with an untimed play. On the two-point try, Wyche put an exclamation point on that final drive by hitting Ken DeLong to complete the comeback.

It was a tie.

 

[LibertyVol]

Webb's injury was perhaps my worst trauma as a Vols fan. But overall the night was a party. Wasn't that game scheduled to toss some gate money to former Vols OC Harris who had taken the HC job at Pacific?

Webb was something else. Man, was he good!

 

[peaygolf]

September 15, 1973

UT - 21
Duke -17

Condredge Holloway brought ninth‐ranked Tennessee from the brink of defeat by diving to the Duke 1‐yard line on a fourth‐down play, which set up the Volunteers' game‐winning touchdown. Tennessee scored with 2 minutes 5 seconds remaining to win, 21‐17.

Tennessee, a three‐touch down favorite, trailing 14–17, had a fourth‐and‐three on the Duke 6‐yard line when Coach Bill Battle elected to go for a victory, rather than settle for a 17‐17 tie with a field goal.

Holloway, who earlier had thrown a 27‐yard touchdown pass and dashed 49 yards for another score, rolled out to the right and dived to the Duke 1 for the first down. Haskel Stanback crashed over for the touchdown.

Ricky Townsend, Tennessee's barefooted soccer‐style kicker, booted three extra points to run his string to 34 straight over two seasons.

 

[MemphisVol77]

Ricky Townsend, Tennessee's barefooted soccer‐style kicker, booted three extra points to run his string to 34 straight over two seasons.

I miss barefoot kickers.

 

[peaygolf]

I miss barefoot kickers.

Also: Bring back these EXACT unis

 

[chuckiepoo]

I miss barefoot kickers.

…so does Rex Ryan…

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

1975 was also the year of the infamous North Texas State game that signaled the beginning of the end of the Bill Battle reign.

In my mind though, not only was it my freshman year on The Hill, but also marks one of my favorite Neyland Memories. Vanderbilt was leading at half on their way to a 17-14 win. It was overcast and cold with rain off and on. My Brother-from-another-mother and I were sitting on the first row of student seats behind a set of wooden bleachers that were in front of that. The POTSMB was in formation playing the Alma Mater when the Vandy players ran onto the field, running through the formation and knocking a couple of band members down. Pure Vandy class on display. Anyway, there was a character in the bleachers who had obviously been imbibing a goodly amount of "anti-freeze" and took offense at these actions. He rose, weaving a bit, and bellowed, "You damn MFers! That's our damn Alma Mater! Take your Fing hats off!!"

Still makes me laugh after all these years.

It might have been 1973 when the fake punt versus Georgia was called. That mistake burned a lot of Battle’s capital with fans.

I think that the moving van showed up and the for sales signs were planted in his yard around the time that North Texas State embarrassed us.

 

[peaygolf]

September 16, 1972
UT - 28
Penn St - 21

The first night game in Neyland Stadium

No. 7 Tennessee entered its season opener against No. 6 Penn St. The Vols defeated head coach Joe Paterno’s team 28-21.

Tennessee led the Nittany Lions, 21-0, at halftime.

The Vols’ first three touchdowns were rushing. Haskel Stanback scored on a 41 yard scamper and two-yard plunge. Steve Chancey also scored on a 22-yard run for the Vols.

The Nittany Lions scored 21 points after halftime, but Stanback’s 2-yard run in the final quarter would provide a winning margin.

The game was witnessed by 71,647 fans, the largest crowd to attend a sporting event in the state at the time.

Stanback totaled 101 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the contest.

Tennessee quarterback Condredge Holloway completed 10-of-16 passing attempts for 97 yards. He recorded 55 rushing yards on 14 attempts in his first start in Neyland Stadium.

The backstory of the game being played in Knoxville, and at night, is actually better than the game itself. Click below for the full story.

Night moves: Neyland Stadium lit up for historic UT-Penn State clash 50 years ago

 

[peaygolf]

September 17, 1977

UT - 24
Boston College- 18

A productive five-minute spurt in the early part of the fourth quarter gave Tennessee two touchdowns and a field goal, enough to put away Boston College for the first Orange victory under Johnny Majors.

An exuberant head coach was fired up by the vic- tory, despite what he called a tendency on the part of his troops “to play Santa Claus." The reference to St. Nick was inspired by a series of events in the final eight minutes after Tennessee had grabbed a 24-3 lead over the visitors from New England. Boston College rebounded to narrow the gap to 24-18 and tried an on-sides kickoff, to no avail, with only a minute left.

Tennessee shut off Boston's ground game, but surrendered generous chunks of yardage through the air. The Eagles completed 25 of 41 passes for 343 yards, but four interceptions by the Vols repelled the Eagles' scoring threats until the final moments. One of the interceptions. by Greg Jones, propelled Tennessee toward its second TD of the game after holding a slim 7-3 lead into the fourth quarter.

On offense, Jimmy Streater had a TD pass and Kelsey Finch scored twice leading the Vols to the 24-18 victory.

 

[peaygolf]

September 18, 1965

UT - 21
Army - 0


Sophomore QB Charlie Fulton made his debut a memorable one, throwing two TD passes, as UT defeated Army 21-0 in the first game of the 1965 season.

Fulton's first pass went for a 22 Yard TD to Hal Wantland and gave the Vols all the points they would need. Right before halftime, UT gained possession at mid-field. Instead of kneeling on it, Fulton hit Austin Denny on a 53 yard pass and run to put UT up 14-0

The defense did it's part the rest of the game, keeping the shutout in tact. Jerry Smith returned a Black Knight punt 66 yards for a TD for good measure to complete the scoring.

The opening game also ushered in the "Running through the T" before the game...............A tradition like no other.



Denny's TD!

 

[ETV]

September 18th, 2004 -

From escape goat to hero. Wilhoit and his 50 yd FG for the win against Florida

 

[peaygolf]

September 19, 1992

UT - 31
Florida - 14

The Vols, led by interim coach Philip Fulmer, got scoring runs of 11 and 8 yards from Shuler, one of 15 yards from James Stewart, and a 66-yard touchdown pass play, from Shuler to Mose Phillips, to end Florida's S.E.C. winning streak at 11.

The Gators, who were ranked fourth in national polls, lost for only the second time in 16 league games since Steve Spurrier became the coach. The other defeat was a 45-3 thrashing by Tennessee, also in Knoxville.

The Vols led 14-0 after Stewart’s TD, but UF cut it to 17-7 at the half.

What happened in the second half has become lore. A monsoon of “biblical proportions” hit in the second half. On the first row, water was knee high. Players couldn’t see the other sideline.

“Meanwhile, still in the third quarter, Heath Shuler completed a simple dump pass to Mose Phillips...and Phillips raced almost seventy yards ("IN THE DOWNPOUR!" - Ward) for the score. One of the all-time best end zone celebrations in Tennessee history ensues, with beauty in simplicity: Phillips stops in the back of the end zone and "checks his watch". Whether he was checking his 40 time or saying "It's about time", it was still very cool...and the Vols had a 24-7 lead.”

Moments after Phillips' touchdown, the storm got so bad that ABC lost their television feed.

It's only in moments like this when you can truly enjoy this kind of rain. Now up three possessions with time ticking away, the Vol defense knew Florida was handcuffed and knew they had a big enough lead.

Despite the rainstorm, almost no one left. The defense kept attacking, and the volume in Neyland kept increasing. The Gators tried to fake a punt at their own 20, and got absolutely nothing. So again working with the short field as the game moved to the fourth quarter, again Shuler did the honors himself, tucking and running and carrying defenders into the end zone for the Vols' final score. On the day, Tennessee ran for 250 yards.

The rain trailed off just as the game was ending, with the Vols on top 31-14 and now clearly on top of the SEC East.

This game would live on in great importance for a long time. For Fulmer, this was the moment his career took off. Thrust into an interim role on short notice with a team that was supposed to be rebuilding, he'd gone on the road to #14 Georgia and won 34-31, then home to dominate #4 Florida 31-14 in consecutive weeks. Understand that without this win, it's very possible that he never becomes the head coach at the University of Tennessee.

The 1992 Florida game is a landmark event in Tennessee Football history. The Vols scored a big upset and beat the Gators by 17 points in a Neyland Stadium downpour/party...and Phillip Fulmer gave himself a chance to take the big job when it came calling.

 

[Orange.]

September 18, 1965
The opening game ushered in the "Running through the T" before the game...............A tradition like no other.

Great date to know.

So that makes this the 60th consecutive season.

 

[OneManGang]

September 18, 1965


The opening game also ushered in the "Running through the T" before the game...............A tradition like no other.

Absolutely.

Younger Son&Heir and I went to see Notre Dame play at Clemson last year. To say I was unimpressed by their pre-game is putting it mildly.

Here was my assessment:

Now the media sheep always launch into orgasms about how the entrance of the Tigers is one of “the penultimate moments” of college football. These jokers go to too many pro games.​

The stadium is laid out on an east/west axis meaning the sun is in somebody's face the whole time. Virtually nobody else does this. The locker rooms for both the home and visitors are under the west end of the stadium. The rock and the grassy slope the team runs down are at the east end of the stadium. Since the lower deck of the the stadium in in the original valley a concourse runs around the top of that.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt my thought was, “Cool. They're going to do a modified Vol Walk around the concourse to the adulation of the fans to get to the rock.”

Um, no.

The team came to the east side entrance ON BUSES! It was one of the most low rent things I've ever seen at a “major” college game.

They got to the rock, Dabo Sweeny mumbled some coachspeak exhortations and laid his hand on the rock and led the team down the hill. At the bottom of the hill, the band– which is roughly the size of Vanderbilt's – formed something that looked like an off ramp for the team to run through. I commented to the Clemsonite sitting behind me that first off they needed about 150-200 more people in the band.

Oh, yeah, there were fireworks - from four launchers at either end of the stadium. It was sad.

In short, we Vol fans are “Old Money” we have traditions that go back over a century. Hell, our newest fight song is “Rocky Top” and the Pride has been performing that for over fifty years. The Clemson band ripped off the“Tiger Rag” from LSU and dots the “I” in a script “tigers” in a direct rip off of Ohio State. Clemson is the epitome of “New Money” with all the gauche spectacle that comes from that.

Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Connecticut

Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Connecticut a/n: I will be speaking at the Veterans Day event at Alvin York State Park on Saturday, 11 November, at 12 Noon CST. The topic is Tennesseans who earned the Medal of Honor in WWI...

www.volnation.com

 

[ETV]

September 19th, 1998.


Florida @ Tennessee. Final score. Tennessee 20. Florida. 17. Pandemonium reigns!

 

[IndianaVol]

September 19, 1992

UT - 31
Florida - 14

The Vols, led by interim coach Philip Fulmer, got scoring runs of 11 and 8 yards from Shuler, one of 15 yards from James Stewart, and a 66-yard touchdown pass play, from Shuler to Mose Phillips, to end Florida's S.E.C. winning streak at 11.

The Gators, who were ranked fourth in national polls, lost for only the second time in 16 league games since Steve Spurrier became the coach. The other defeat was a 45-3 thrashing by Tennessee, also in Knoxville.

The Vols led 14-0 after Stewart’s TD, but UF cut it to 17-7 at the half.

What happened in the second half has become lore. A monsoon of “biblical proportions” hit in the second half. On the first row, water was knee high. Players couldn’t see the other sideline.

“Meanwhile, still in the third quarter, Heath Shuler completed a simple dump pass to Mose Phillips...and Phillips raced almost seventy yards ("IN THE DOWNPOUR!" - Ward) for the score. One of the all-time best end zone celebrations in Tennessee history ensues, with beauty in simplicity: Phillips stops in the back of the end zone and "checks his watch". Whether he was checking his 40 time or saying "It's about time", it was still very cool...and the Vols had a 24-7 lead.”

Moments after Phillips' touchdown, the storm got so bad that ABC lost their television feed.

It's only in moments like this when you can truly enjoy this kind of rain. Now up three possessions with time ticking away, the Vol defense knew Florida was handcuffed and knew they had a big enough lead.

Despite the rainstorm, almost no one left. The defense kept attacking, and the volume in Neyland kept increasing. The Gators tried to fake a punt at their own 20, and got absolutely nothing. So again working with the short field as the game moved to the fourth quarter, again Shuler did the honors himself, tucking and running and carrying defenders into the end zone for the Vols' final score. On the day, Tennessee ran for 250 yards.

The rain trailed off just as the game was ending, with the Vols on top 31-14 and now clearly on top of the SEC East.

This game would live on in great importance for a long time. For Fulmer, this was the moment his career took off. Thrust into an interim role on short notice with a team that was supposed to be rebuilding, he'd gone on the road to #14 Georgia and won 34-31, then home to dominate #4 Florida 31-14 in consecutive weeks. Understand that without this win, it's very possible that he never becomes the head coach at the University of Tennessee.

The 1992 Florida game is a landmark event in Tennessee Football history. The Vols scored a big upset and beat the Gators by 17 points in a Neyland Stadium downpour/party...and Phillip Fulmer gave himself a chance to take the big job when it came calling.




View attachment 678300

In the realm of all things "What If"...imagine if Fulmer would have lost this game. Would we have kept Majors? Would he have survived the season? Who would we have hired / promoted? What if Majors would have won out, how much longer would he have been coach?...oh the "what Ifs" !!!