Tennessee football: Vols top 10 upset wins in school history

7. 1950: Tennessee beats Kentucky 7-0

This one requires a bit of history. Tennessee football was slumping in the late 1940s during Robert Neyland’s third stint, and many wondered if he had lost it. But they turned things around in 1949, and in 1950, they were looking like a national title team once again despite an early-season slip-up against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

The Vols won the rest of their games until this final showdown of the regular season with the Kentucky Wildcats. An up-and-coming elite coach for the Wildcats, Bear Bryant, had the team undefeated and poised for a national title.

This would be the year that Bryant, whom Neyland owned, would finally take one. Neyland would pass him the torch for SEC dominance. Despite one loss between them, there was every reason in the world to make Kentucky a heavy favorite. They didn’t deliver.

Thanks to six inches of snow, fans on Rocky Top got to enjoy a game for the ages. The snow created fumble after fumble on both sides in an ugly setting.

Kentucky lost eight of nine fumbles, while the Vols lost four of seven. In the second quarter, a Kentucky fumble on their own 36-yard line gave the Vols the ball. They capitalized with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Hank Lauricella to Bert Rechichar. That was the difference.

The snow made it a defensive struggle the rest of the way with turnover after turnover making it ugly. But Tennessee football fans were able to see their team take advantage of it, making for a great snow day that involved a huge 7-0 upset. The upset win allowed the Vols to claim a share of the national title at the end of the season after the bowl game was played. And claiming such a title makes a win like this that much more special.