Tennessee Football: 30 Greatest Games in Vols School History

Jan 06, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; A general view of the Cotton Bowl logo before the game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Kansas State Wildcats in the 2012 Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

27. 1990 Cotton Bowl: Tennessee Beats Arkansas 31-27

It was Tennessee’s 600th win in the history of the program, a perfect start to one of the greatest decades in school history, and a perfect cherry on top of a season that was one of the greatest turnaround seasons in college football history.

The Vols had gone 10-1 on the year and shared the SEC Championship with the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers. That had followed a 5-6 season the year before in which Johnny Majors had almost been fired.

But it was this season that started an unbelievable run of winning seasons for the Vols going to 2005.

Tennessee’s season had included amazing victories over the UCLA Bruins and Auburn Tigers under first-year offensive coordinator Phillip Fulmer, and a new passing era took shape as he made a switch at quarterback midway through the season to eventual Tennessee legend Andy Kelly.

Going into this game, they were to face the Southwest Conference Champion No. 10 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. Thanks to great defensive play by eventual superstar wide receiver Carl Pickens, who had a red zone interception early on, a couple of nice bombs by Andy Kelly, and dominant running by Chuck Webb, Tennessee pulled out a 31-27 victory over the Razorbacks.

It was just a hint of an incredible run, but the game was also a terrific sendoff from the 1980s into the future under Johnny Majors.

The Vols finished 11-1 and ranked No. 5 in the country as SEC Champions.

Next: #26: 1971 Penn State