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Tennessee vs. Arkansas Rivalry History: Five Greatest Games

By Caleb Calhoun

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Jul 15, 2015; Birmingham, AL, USA; General view of an Arkansas Razorbacks helmet during SEC media days at the Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

4. The 1992 Upset

Arkansas Wins 25-24

This will forever be a game that shaped Tennessee Vols football history. Behind a young quarterback named Heath Shuler, the unranked Vols who were supposed to be rebuilding this year had roared to a 5-0 start. The first three wins were under Interim Head Coach Phil Fulmer, who was filling in for Johnny Majors as he recovered from open-heart surgery.

Two of those wins were huge upsets against Georgia and Florida.

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    • Majors came back to coach the Vols in victories against Cincinnati and LSU, and despite an unranked start, this team was undefeated, first in the SEC East, and ranked No. 4.

    Arkansas, meanwhile, was having a terrible year entering the SEC. The Razorbacks were 1-4 with losses to Memphis and The Citadel. No way the Vols would blow this one, right?

    But whether it was the dissension with Fulmer and Majors, the lack of focus, or something else, the Vols fell behind 16-7. They managed to fight back to take a 24-16 lead, but Arkansas wouldn’t quit.

    The Razorbacks scored a touchdown to cut it to 24-22 but failed to convert the two-point conversion. However, in a twist of fate, they recovered an onside kick, and they were able to get in range to kick a game-winning field goal to stun the Vols 25-24 at Neyland as time expired.

    Arkansas still never got on a roll, finishing the year 3-7-1. But the loss sent Tennessee on a downward spiral. They lost at home by just a touchdown to Alabama the next week, and then they were stunned by South Carolina, losing by a point, the next game.

    All of a sudden, 5-0 was 5-3, two losses of which were to unranked opponents by one point. And the Vols’ championship hopes were dashed.

    Not only that, but that bad month resulted in Johnny Majors’s firing and Fulmer’s hiring, forging a bitterness between the two men that still has not been resolved.

    It was the first, but not the last time the Hogs would ruin the Vols’ championship season.

    Next: #3: 2002 Six-Overtime Thriller

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