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Top 10 Bowl Game Victories in Tennessee Football History

By Caleb Calhoun

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Oct 4, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; A general view of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome prior to the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

2. 1986 Sugar Bowl: Tennessee Beats Miami 35-7

Every modern-day Vols fan who was alive during this game can never stop talking about it. This was one of the greatest wins in the history of the program and set off an amazing run for Tennessee football.

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    • For context, the Vols had been a mediocre program under Johnny Majors to that point, who was still cleaning up a mess Bill Battle had left in 1976. They had not won an SEC Championship since 1969 and had not had a Top 10 finish since 1972.

    This Tennessee team, however, finished 8-1-2 in the regular season, tying UCLA and Georgia Tech and losing to Florida, to win the SEC title. But with star quarterback Tony Robinson out with an injury, they were seen as a bit of a fluke.

    And they were heading to the Sugar Bowl to face a much better Miami Hurricanes team, who would win the national championship under Head Coach Jimmy Johnson if they had just beaten the Vols.

    The heavily-favored, No. 2 ranked Hurricanes scored easily on the opening drive with a touchdown pass from Vinny Testaverde to Michael Irvin. But then the defense regrouped and shut down the high-powered Miami offense, and a touchdown pass from second-string quarterback Daryl Dickey in the second quarter followed by a fumble recovered by Tim McGee in the end zone gave Tennessee a surprising 14-7 first half lead.

    That momentum was all they needed, and the 1985 Sugar Vols, who had built a reputation of over-achieving and accomplishing so much with so little in what was undoubtedly Majors’s best coaching job, flat-out dominated the rest of the game.

    Three more touchdown runs along with a stiffening defense gave the Vols a convincing, and shocking 35-7 victory in New Orleans, spoiling Miami’s national title hopes and assuring them a Top 5 finish for the first time since 1970. This win signified the return of the program that launched the 20 year run to follow.

    Next: #1: 1999 Fiesta Bowl

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