Tennessee football: Vols 10 worst upset losses in school history

1. 2001 SEC Championship: LSU beats Tennessee 31-20

This is the worst loss in Tennessee football history. It’s the Vols’ worst loss this century. And it’s one that fans, no matter how old they get, will ever get over. In no way should this game have even been close.

Now, unlike other teams on this list, the 2001 LSU Tigers weren’t bad. They were decent in their second year with Nick Saban building a program. But the Vols were at their height under Phillip Fulmer. On top of that, why they lost adds to why it’s the biggest upset.

Tennessee entered this game a week removed from one of the most thrilling upset victories in their favor, ironically, in school history. They were 18-point underdogs and beat the No. 2 ranked Florida Gators in The Swamp 34-32.

The win propelled them to No. 2 in the BCS. All they had to do was beat an LSU team that they had blown out in the regular season before calling off the dogs, and they would head to the Rose Bowl to play for the national championship.

Then there’s what happened in the game. The Vols built a 17-7 first-half lead. Not only did they build that lead, but LSU lost their starting running back and then their starting quarterback. The guy who came in at quarterback was Matt Mauck.

Tennessee had the best rush defense in the nation that year with two starters at defensive tackle, John Henderson and Albert Haynesworth, who would go onto become NFL Pro Bowlers. It was the best interior line combo in college football history. And Mauck was a running quarterback who went between the tackles.

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Given all that, and down 17-7, there was no reason to believe that Tennessee football wasn’t in control. But Mauck began to torch the Vols on the ground. LSU would stall in the red zone, but a series of field goals still made it 17-16 in the second half. And with the Vols realizing they were in trouble, they crumbled.

Travis Stephens fumbled to set up LSU’s go-ahead touchdown. On the next drive, down 24-17, Tennessee stalled on the four-yard line and had to settle for a field goal. Late in the game and driving, Donte Stallworth fumbled the ball. And then Julian Battle dropped an interception.

Down 24-20 late, the defense finally crumbled for good. The Tigers ran down the throats of this elite rush defense, and they scored the game-clinching touchdown on fourth down to take the lead. Tennessee football had blown it.

Looking back, there’s still no good explanation for this loss. No way the Vols should have blown this. But they did, and while it’s the worst loss in school history, it’s also the worst upset. They were just too good to let this happen.