10 Worst Bowl Losses in Tennessee Football History

Nov 15, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; General view of Nissan Stadium prior to the Carolina Panthers game against the Tennessee Titans. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

9. 2010 Music City Bowl: Tennessee Loses to North Carolina Tar Heels 30-27 in Overtime

Sometimes the way you lose is enough to be a memorably bad loss no matter what the circumstances surrounding it are. This is one of those times.

Sure, the 2010 Music City Bowl did not really matter with Head Coach Derek Dooley in his first year at the time dealing with a very young and thin team that was a complete mess. But when you have a win snatched away from you like this one, it always hurts.

The Vols had earlier that year celebrated what they thought was a monumental upset on the road against the LSU Tigers only to have a penalty called after a review that set up a last-second LSU touchdown. In this one, they had UNC on the ropes, needing a late drive and down by a field goal to tie it.

The Tar Heels drove into field goal range very quickly, but after running a play and failing to stop the clock with no timeouts, time appeared to run out on them. However, in all the disjointedness, they manipulated a rule by spiking the ball with one second left despite nobody being lined up and too many men on the field. The result was a five-yard penalty, and they got to kick the field goal anyway.

The Tar Heels then won in overtime, causing the Vols to finish the 2010 season with a losing record at 6-7. The loss changed the rule book in college football as it brought in the 10-second runoff. But it did not help Tennessee at the time, and they suffered a sickening bowl loss.

Within the year, UNC Head Coach Butch Davis was fired due to a scandal, and the same thing happened to Dooley just two years later.

Next: #8: 1979 Bluebonnet Bowl