10 Worst Bowl Losses in Tennessee Football History

Dec 18, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; General view of the downtown Jacksonville skyline including the St. Johns River and Main Street Bridge (John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge) and Jacksonville Landing and Times-Union Center and Modis Tower and Wells Fargo Center before the NFL game between the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

6. 1969 Gator Bowl: Tennessee Loses to Florida Gators 14-13

Long before the SEC East rivalry that would explode in the 1990s between Tennessee and Florida took place, the two schools hardly played each other despite being in the same conference. This was one of those rare exceptions.

And it was embarrassing for the Vols.

They had led the series with the Gators 11-1 at that point, but with a 38-0 loss to Archie Manning and the Ole Miss Rebels the only blemish on the Vols’ record in 1969 thanks to Steve Kiner’s big mouth, the SEC Champions still had a Top 10 finish and pride to play for in this bowl game.

Florida, meanwhile, was 8-1-1 and ranked No. 15 in the country. Their high-powered passing attack would meet Tennessee’s high-powered rushing attack in an expected offensive shootout.

But fans got the opposite.

In a defensive battle, Tennessee could not keep Mike Kelley from torching their offense, as he picked up an interception, a forced fumble, a sack, 17 tackles, and blocked a punt for a touchdown. That blocked punt touchdown was one of two major fluke plays that cost the Vols.

The other came at the end. Trailing 14-13 and on Florida’s one-yard line with less than a minute to go, Tennessee coach Doug Dickey made a fourth-and-dumb decision to go for it instead of kick a game-winning field goal. Was he trying to throw a game to help his alma mater?

Seriously. How dumb of a decision could you make? If you cant trust your kicker to kick from there, why do you have him?

Anyway, Dickey pursued the idiotic decision, and after the unlikely blocked punt in the game along with the unlikely stupid decision, the most unlikely thing happened: Florida stopped Tennessee’s power rushing attack on that play and did not allow a touchdown.

Tennessee has a history of giving away one and two-point games to the Florida Gators, as it has happened all too often even over the past 10 years. But this one was the first, and it is one of the worst bowl losses in Vols history.

Next: #5: 1941 Sugar Bowl