Top 10 Opening Games in Tennessee Football History

Oct 4, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium before the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

5. 1975: Tennessee Vols Beat Maryland Terrapins 26-8

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 to go up 13-2. A punt return touchdown gave the Vols a 19-2 lead at halftime, and then a third-quarter touchdown helped the Vols built a 26-2 lead.

That was all they needed.

Maryland cut the lead t0 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.

Unfortunately, the momentum did not last as the Vols went 7-5 that year, but this was a nice win and a very impressive one at the time.

Maryland, meanwhile, finished the year 9-2-1, won the ACC Championship, and ended up ranked No. 13 on the year, but despite Tennessee’s disappointing season, that only served to make this win more impressive.

Next: #4: 2006 Cal