Top 10 Opening Games in Tennessee Football History

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

8. 2001: Tennessee Vols beat Syracuse Orange(men) 33-9

The last time the Vols finished in the Top 5 and what should have been one of the greatest years in the program’s history had they not slipped up in the SEC Championship game against the LSU Tigers started out with a very strong win.

Tennessee entered the year in the Top 10 returning a lot of talent from its 8-4 team a year ago and started off extremely strong in this game alone. After stopping the Orange on the first series, the first offensive play of the year was a long touchdown pass from Casey Clausen to Donte Stallworth to give the Vols a 7-0 lead.

The game became kind of an ugly affair after that, as neither team could generate much offense and made a ton of mistakes. But the Vols got a safety, a field goal, and then three second half rushing touchdowns to get to 33 points.

Syracuse got a field goal and a touchdown to make it 33-9.

At the time, we were not too excited because of the ugliness of the win, an injury to Stallworth that took place in the game, and the fact that the Orange(men) were 0-2, so they clearly did not appear to be a great team.

But Tennessee went on to have a very good season, and Syracuse would win every game the rest of the year except against the eventual national champion Miami Hurricanes to finish 10-3 and in the Top 15. That made this a very quality win for the Vols.

Next: #5: 1990 Colorado