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Tennessee Football: 30 Greatest Games in Vols School History

By Caleb Calhoun

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Sep 6, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans react during an Arkansas State Red Wolves third down during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 34 to 19. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

26. 1971: Tennessee Beats Penn State 31-11

Despite a season that included two losses to the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers, both of whom were in the Top Five at the time, the Vols still had some nice wins at this point.

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    • They scored a late touchdown in The Swamp to beat the Florida Gators, they had late thrilling victories against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, and they eventually scored a thrilling, albeit controversial, bowl win against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

    But before that bowl game, the Vols had what was clearly their best win of the year.

    Under Head Coach Bill Battle in his second season and led by Captain Jackie Walker and eventual head coach Phillip Fulmer at guard, Tennessee would host the No. 5 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions the final regular season game of the year.

    The couldn’t win a conference championship this season, but they were ranked No. 12 and could have a strong finish. The Nittany Lions and Joe Paterno traveled to Neyland Stadium undefeated and still thinking about a strong possibility of a national championship if things broke right.

    But in front of an ABC audience, the Vols torched the Nittany Lions, controlling the game from start to finish and winning 31-11, a game for SEC pride and pride for the Vols. That win launched them into the Top 10, which was where they would finish.

    The magnitude of dominating a team like the Nittany Lions is what makes this one of the best games in Tennessee history. It was a complete shutdown of the momentum Penn State had built.

    Next: #25: 1991 Sugar Bowl

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