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Tennessee football: Vols top 10 upset wins in school history

By Caleb Calhoun

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Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images
Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images /

9. 2003: Tennessee beats Miami 10-6

The year before Tennessee football upset the Georgia Bulldogs, they pulled off another epic upset. It was their second win in the streak of wins as double-digit underdogs on the road. This one came against a program at its peak, though.

For context, the Vols were struggling. After a 3-0 start, they had looked ugly for five straight games. They needed overtime to beat a 5-7 South Carolina Gamecocks team. Then they lost two straight, one to a barely .500 Auburn Tigers team and then a blowout loss at home to the Georgia Bulldogs.

Coming off a bye, they needed five overtimes to beat what would become a 4-9 Alabama Crimson Tide team. And then they looked hideous in a sluggish 23-6 win over a Duke Blue Devils team that was awful at the time.

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    • Meanwhile, the Hurricanes were a program at their peak. Remember, they had lost two games in three years from 2000 to 2002. One in 2002 was due to a phantom overtime pass interference call that robbed them of their second straight undefeated season and national title. And up until Tennessee’s game against Duke, they were undefeated again.

    But Miami would suffer a blowout loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies a week before this one on the road, creating a litany of turnovers. In response, the national media had the exact wrong takeaway.

    Given the state of the programs and the fact that the ‘Canes won the year before in Knoxville 26-3, they already had it in their head that this team was way more talented. They also saw all the mistakes made against VT and figured they wouldn’t make them two weeks in a row and would instead take their anger out on UT. Add in the fact that this team was undefeated at home since 1999, and there was good reason to make them a double-digit favorite when hosting the Vols.

    Kellen Winslow Jr., meanwhile, said as much. He noted that his team was ticked off and it was unfortunate for the Vols. And in another interview, he lobbied that the ‘Canes should still be one of top two teams to play for the national championships.

    Tennessee football, however, took the opposite lesson from the Virginia Tech game. They realized with a senior quarterback that if they stayed disciplined and didn’t make mistakes, Miami would implode. That’s exactly what happened.

    The Vols had one touchdown drive, kept alive by a roughing the punter penalty. They used Dustin Colquitt’s huge leg to their advantage and played conservative the whole game. Meanwhile, Miami did implode. They committed four turnovers. Two were deep in Tennessee football territory and cost them points. One set up a Vols field goal. And the final one was a fumbled punt that gave Phillip Fulmer and co. the upset. It was an upset never to forget.

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