Tennessee Vols Top 30 Memorable Moments of the Adidas Era

Nov 27, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles on the sideline during the second quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

27. Tennessee Football Comes Back to Beat LSU in 2005 in Overtime 30-27.

Take away the disaster that was the 2005 football season really quickly and just live in the moment. At the time, the Vols were 1-1 and heading to Baton Rouge to play a Top Five team in the LSU Tigers on the heels of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in Les Miles’s first ever home game with the program.

The game was postponed to Monday night due to Hurricane Rita, and many Vols fans could not make the road trip as a result. Then came the perfect collapse. Despite decent play by the defense, Erik Ainge had a horrendous first half to dig the Vols into a 21-0 hole at halftime.

In came Rick Clausen, and for one very brief moment, he got to shine. Clausen had transferred from LSU after being told he would not make it in the SEC. He led the Vols on a scoring drive to open the third quarter to cut it to 21-7, and with the team down 24-7, he led another scoring drive to start the fourth and cut it to 24-14.

Then came the excitement. Jamarcus Russell, in typical fashion, threw an idiotic interception right into Jonathan Hefney’s hands that set Tennessee up on the goal line, and Gerald Riggs punched it in for a one-yard score to cut it to 24-21. They stopped LSU and got the ball back, and were it not for a drop by Cory Anderson and terrible play-calling by Randy Sanders, they could have won it on that drive. But they settled for a field goal.

Then, in overtime, LSU nailed a field goal, but the Vols finished the game after Riggs pounded it in for a touchdown. Tennessee won 30-27 and stunned the highly ranked Tigers in Baton Rouge on a glorious Monday night. Clausen got the shine.

It did not last long after the team later stumbled to a 5-6 season, but for one exciting night, when nobody knew anything yet, fans were at the highest of highs.

Next: #26: 2014 Men's Basketball Sweet Sixteen Appearance