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Top 10 Opening Games in Tennessee Football History

By Caleb Calhoun

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Oct 25, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans outside Neyland Stadium prior to the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

10. 2000: Tennessee Vols Beat Southern Miss Golden Eagles 19-16

It was a unique opener for the Vols in that they had scheduled this game as an easy win, but the Southern Miss Golden Eagles had all of a sudden developed into a solid mid-major football program at the time.

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    • And all of a sudden Tennessee, who was in rebuilding mode after losing so much NFL productivity from 1999 and had one of the youngest teams in the SEC, had to play a Top 25 Conference USA Program to open the season that was very experienced.

    On top of everything, freshman quarterback Casey Clausen, who was supposed to be the starter for the Vols, had to miss the game due to a shoulder injury, meaning the reigns were left to Joey Matthews and A.J. Suggs.

    The result was a dogfight that started with a 3-0 Southern Miss lead. But then Matthews was hit as he threw a wobbly pass that Cedric Wilson came down with for a touchdown.

    The Vol defense gave everybody a taste of what the next two years would be like on the defensive line with John Henderson, Albert Haynesworth, and Will Overstreet, as they got pressure all day on Southern Miss and picked up a safety.

    Then Suggs threw a touchdown pass that Donte Stallworth ran in. Tennessee took a 19-3 lead and had to hold on to win the game 19-16.

    It was a great Top 25 victory for the Vols in the post-Tee Martin era, and, most notably, it was their 700th win in school history. That significance warrants this game being in the Top 10.

    Next: #9: 2012 N.C. State

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