10 Worst Bowl Losses in Tennessee Football History

Oct 4, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans during the first quarter against the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

5. 1941 Sugar Bowl: Tennessee Loses to Boston College Eagles 19-13

Another game that puts a damper on a national championship season for the Tennessee Vols, this one was a rough loss. Tennessee was 1-1 in bowl games at this point in its history, having defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the Orange Bowl two years earlier and then suffering one of the worst bowl losses in history, which we’ll get to in a minute, right after that.

The Vols were declared national champs at 10-0 and caught in the middle of a bidding war between the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. Choosing the first option, Gen. Robert Neyland and his team accepted a bid to the Sugar Bowl to play the Boston College Eagles, the beasts of the East.

This Tennessee football team was once again one that could have gone down in history as one of the greatest college football teams in history. The mystique of the program under Neyland at that point was unmatched.

As a seven-point favorite over the 10-0 Eagles, the declared national champions once again blew their bowl game, losing 19-13 after leading 7-0 early and 13-7 in the third before back to back BC touchdowns. There is another factor that makes this game even worse, though.

The Eagles were without their best player, Louis Montgomery, because they were playing a team from the South in the South. Montgomery would not be able to suit up, a part of a very embarrassing past for Tennessee football and southern football in general.

Yet, even without Montgomery, the Vols still lost. Perhaps it was an omen. But embarrassingly enough, black athletes in the SEC didn’t become commonplace until more than a quarter-century later.

Next: #4: 1984 Sun Bowl