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
Nonetheless, the Vols were set to play the Wisconsin Badgers in the Garden State Bowl in New Jersey, and this was a chance to get Johnny Majors’s his first bowl win as a head coach at Tennessee.
That was made possible thanks to Anthony Hancock.
Hancock caught 11 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown was a 43-yard reception that put the Vols up 21-7 in the second quarter, giving them the breathing room they needed in the game.
It also made the difference in a 28-21 victory. Picking up 196 receiving yards is remarkable in any game. Hancock saved it for this performance, and that is what puts him on this list.
Tennessee was able to finish the year 8-4 thanks to him, allowing them to continually but slowly improve under Majors each year until the program finally took off in 1985. This was a milestone game that helped it along, though.
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7
Anthony Hancock
Wide Receiver, 1981 Garden State Bowl: Defeated Wisconsin Badgers 28-21
Up until another performance that is documented later on this list, Anthony Hancock had the greatest performance for any wide receiver in Tennessee football history in a bowl game here.
Hancock was part of a Tennessee team that finished 7-4, with three of the four losses coming to teams who finished the season in the Top 15, but they ended on a sour note with a loss at Kentucky, something beating Vanderbilt could not even salvage.
Nonetheless, the Vols were set to play the Wisconsin Badgers in the Garden State Bowl in New Jersey, and this was a chance to get Johnny Majors’s his first bowl win as a head coach at Tennessee.
That was made possible thanks to Anthony Hancock.
Hancock caught 11 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown was a 43-yard reception that put the Vols up 21-7 in the second quarter, giving them the breathing room they needed in the game.
It also made the difference in a 28-21 victory. Picking up 196 receiving yards is remarkable in any game. Hancock saved it for this performance, and that is what puts him on this list.
Tennessee was able to finish the year 8-4 thanks to him, allowing them to continually but slowly improve under Majors each year until the program finally took off in 1985. This was a milestone game that helped it along, though.
Next: #6: Alvin Toles-1983 Citrus Bowl