Tennessee football: Vols top 10 upset wins in school history

1. 1982: Tennessee beats Alabama 35-28

Some upsets didn’t make this list because there weren’t long-term implications from them. The UCLA Bruins in 1989 is one, since that UCLA team turned out to be terrible. The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators in 1992 are others since the Vols later collapsed those years.

But even in cases like that, some upsets are so great that they still can’t be ignored. Such is the case with Tennessee football against the Alabama Crimson Tide in 1982. Remember, the Vols still limped to the finish that year at 3-3, finishing 6-5-1. And Alabama eventually fell apart, going 8-4 in Bear Bryant’s last season. But the magnitude of this one win in the moment is what makes it so big.

Tennessee football had not beaten Alabama since 1970. With his new wishbone offense taking the program to new heights and the Vols falling behind, Bryant turned the series into one of dominance for the Tide.

At this point, as well, Vols fans were really beginning to question the Majors hire. In five seasons, he had never finished in the Top 25, never had more than eight wins, and had just two winning seasons over all while suffering a .500 year and two losing seasons, one of which was at the time the worst in school history.

So 1982 rolls around, and it looks like another year where Tennessee football struggles while Alabama cruises under Bryant. Heading into Knoxville, the Tide were 5-0 and ranked No. 2, having just blown out the No. 3 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions 42-21 the week before. Meanwhile, the Vols started the year 1-2 with a home loss to the mediocre Duke Blue Devils and a road loss to the Auburn Tigers.

A home win over the Washington State Cougars made them 2-2. Then they tied the No. 18 ranked LSU Tigers. That tie was significant enough to give them momentum, but nobody thought much of it at the time.

So here comes No. 2 and undefeated Alabama rolling into town under Bear Bryant looking to beat 2-2-1 Tennessee, a team they’ve beaten for 11 straight years. There was no reason in the world to believe the Vols would win…until they did.

It was a back and forth game, but Tennessee football sealed it with a late interception to win 35-28, and the goalposts came down. The Vols shocked the world, and that would turn out to be the last game they ever played against Bear Bryant.

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Although it didn’t do much for the Vols that season, it unraveled Alabama’s. Combine that with the fact that it gave them just enough momentum to build the program before it took off in 1985, and it’s clear to see why this belongs on the list as the greatest upset in school history.

There were enough long-term implications. It was against one of their top rivals. And it was the greatest upset in terms of discrepancies between where each team stood at the time. That’s enough to make this the greatest upset the Vols ever enjoyed.