Tennessee vs. Alabama: 10 Memorable Vols Wins in the Series

Oct 10, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Fans at the Vol Walk before the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

7. 1983: Tennessee Wins 41-34

Much like the 1996 season, the Vols went into this game looking for their second straight win over the Crimson Tide after suffering a long streak before, this time an 11-game losing streak from 1971 to 1981.

This time, the Vols were 3-2 and unranked, while Alabama, in its first year post-Bear Bryant, was 4-1 and ranked No. 11 and hosting the game in Birmingham. Their only loss was a road game shocker to Penn State the week before, but that was a fluke, and they would get back on track against a Tennessee team they were clearly better than and should not have lost to the year before.

Meanwhile, Johnny Majors was in his seventh season with the Vols but had yet to win an SEC title, finish a year in the Top 25, or even contend for anything. The only reason he had not been fired to that point was due to his status with the program as a player and the fact that he did beat Alabama the year before.

This would be a game he had to win. And he did.

Alabama scored first with a long drive to take a 7-0 lead, but Lenny Taylor took one pass 80 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 7 the next drive. Alabama took a 14-7 lead on a touchdown run, and Tennessee responded with a touchdown run from Alan Cockrell.

The game went back and forth until it was tied at 34 with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Johnny Jones then took a pitch 66 yards into the end zone to win the game for Tennessee 41-34. It was the second for the Vols in the series, and it derailed the Tide’s season, which made it even sweeter.

Tennessee, meanwhile, finished 9-3 on the year, enough to keep Majors around.

Next: #5: Tennessee Wins 10-9 in 1968