Tennessee football history: 10 years ago today, Vols took first in East

The last time Tennessee football took first in the SEC East in late October was 2007. The Volunteers beat South Carolina while the Georgia beat Florida.

Must Read: Vols' potential dream staff under Jon Gruden

At this moment, Tennessee football head coach Butch Jones should be fired. The Vols have nothing to play for once again with a 3-4 record and an 0-4 SEC record as they get set to face the Kentucky Wildcats on the road Saturday.

But in a form of irony, today just happens to be the 10-year anniversary of the last time the Vols took control of the SEC East this late in the season. The last good year Phillip Fulmer had before his firing, nobody knew at the time that Tennessee was heading towards a downward spiral.

It was a glorious day, but to explain why it was important we need context. The Vols had a senior quarterback that year in Erik Ainge, but they had a very inconsistent defense and no weapons at receiver.

More from Vols Football

As a result, they got off to a 1-2 start with a 45-31 loss to the California Golden Bears and a blowout 59-20 loss to the defending national champion Florida Gators with Tim Tebow as the starter.

At that point, Florida looked unstoppable while the Vols looked done. But heading into the bye week 2-2, they witnessed Florida lose to Auburn. The next week, the Vols blew out the Georgia Bulldogs, who already had an SEC loss, while the LSU Tigers beat Florida.

All of a sudden, Tennessee was tied for first in the East and controlled its own destiny. They held that position for another week, beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs. But then, in Nick Saban’s first year as head coach, the Alabama Crimson Tide dominated Tennessee 41-17.

So Tennessee was 4-3 and 2-2 in the SEC. The East seemed all but lost. And that all set the stage for this magical day, on Oct. 27, 2007.

Every team in the SEC East had two losses with the exception of the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tennessee football had a night game that day against the South Carolina Gamecocks, who were upset by Vanderbilt the week before.

That left the division wide open.

It all started with a boring noon game. The Mississippi State Bulldogs under Sylvester Croom scored a shocking blowout over the Kentucky Wildcats, 31-14. Kentucky was out with three losses.

The next game, though was the game that would really determine things for Tennessee. Georgia was facing Florida. Both teams had two conference losses, but Tennessee beat Georgia. So if Mark Richt’s Bulldogs won, the Vols would be back in control of their own destiny.

Georgia scored the opening touchdown to take a 7-0 lead over the Gators and had the entire team run to the end zone in a planned excessive celebration. This was a way for Richt to fire his team up and take control of the game mentally against Florida. It’s now one of the most memorable celebrations ever. Take a look here.

The plan worked. Georgia controlled the Gators behind Matthew Stafford’s arm, and in a huge upset, the Dawgs won.

All of a sudden, Florida and Kentucky had three losses, and Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina all had two. But the Vols and Gamecocks both had the tiebreaker over Georgia.

So a Saturday night game at Neyland Stadium between the two schools would determine which team controls its own destiny in the SEC East.

And amidst all that hype, the game happened.

In terms of play, it was one of the ugliest games ever. Ainge had a horrible night. But the Vols built a 21-0 first half lead.

Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks didn’t quit, though. Aided by Ainge’s horrendous night, South Carolina got it going in the second half. The Gamecocks reeled off 21 straight to tie it up and got the ball late.

They drove into Tennessee territory. The Vols then held them to a field goal, but South Carolina led 24-21 with less than a minute and a half left to play.

This is when it began to look like Tennessee football was a team of destiny. LaMarcus Coker, who would be dismissed the very next week, set the Vols up perfectly with a kickoff return to the 47-yard line. Ainge got it to the South Carolina 44.

Then, on 3rd and one, Arian Foster ran it 18 yards into South Carolina territory, but just as the Vols had control, Foster did what he was infamous for. He fumbled the ball right there. But, in what had already been a magical day, Tennessee football got another miracle as Eric Young recovered the fumble.

We’re not done with miracles yet, though. Daniel Lincoln, a freshman, was called on to try a 43-yard field goal. He shanked it. However, in a stroke of luck, the Vols committed a false start penalty. So Lincoln got another chance, this time from 48 yards, and he nailed it.

That sent the game to overtime.

Neither offense did much in OT. Lincoln kicked a 27-yard field to give Tennessee a 27-24 lead. Then the defense did not allow a first down. And in a fashion all too familiar for Spurrier at Neyland Stadium in overtime at night, he watched his kicker miss a game-tying 41-yard field goal. Ironically, that was future Tennessee Titans kicker Ryan Succop who missed it.

Ballgame. The fans went crazy, as you can see here.

And honestly, the excitement was for good reason. In one of the most thrilling days in Tennessee football history, the Vols took firm control of the SEC East thanks to Florida losing to Georgia, Kentucky losing to Mississippi State, and themselves scoring a thrilling night victory at home.

The Vols held on in two more games that came down to a missed field goal for them to win. But they won the East with a 9-3 record.

Next: Top 10 assistants who could be Vols head coaches

It would be the last time they would even be competing for the division late in the year until last year. And it would be the last time they were first in the East going into November. So here, we commemorate history. There has not been a better day for Tennessee football in the 10 years since that day passed.

Home/Vols Football