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Tennessee football Top 10 Vols teams that didn’t win a championship

By Caleb Calhoun

GAINESVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 01: Scott Newsome #68 of the University of Tennessee Volunteers celebrates the victory over the University of Florida Gators after the SEC game at Florida Field in Gainesville, Florida on December 01, 2001. Tennessee defeated Florida 34-32. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 01: Scott Newsome #68 of the University of Tennessee Volunteers celebrates the victory over the University of Florida Gators after the SEC game at Florida Field in Gainesville, Florida on December 01, 2001. Tennessee defeated Florida 34-32. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images
Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images /

2. 1970 Tennessee Volunteers: 11-1 (4-1 SEC)

The 1971 and 1972 Tennessee football teams were thrilling to watch, but they actually showed a sign of slight regression for the Vols. When you look at what Bill Battle did in 1970, he had one of the greatest seasons a first-year head coach could ever ask for.

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    • Taking over for Doug Dickey, Battle inherited a program loaded with talent that had enjoyed five straight Top 25 finishes, two SEC Championships and a retroactive national championship the previous five years. The 1969 team should have won it all, but an upset blowout loss to the Ole Miss Rebels and Archie Manning wrecked the season.

    Heading into 1970, there were many questions Vols fans had about Battle and the type of program he would lead. And a 36-23 loss to Auburn in the second game of the season validated those concerns to a degree.

    But Battle and his program recovered thanks to arguably the greatest secondary in NCAA history led by Tim Priest and Bobby Majors. A 48-3 win over the Auburn Tigers was just the start of the recovery. One week later, the Vols upset the No. 13 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on the road 17-6. They then shut out the Alabama Crimson Tide 24-0 and destroyed the Florida Gators 38-7.

    Tennessee football got on a roll to win out and finish the year 10-1. They ended the regular season ranked No. 4 in the nation after a home win over the UCLA Bruins. And to cap it all off, they made it to the Sugar Bowl to face the Air Force Falcons. The Vols dominated in that game 34-13.

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    A Top 5 finish with an 11-1 record and Sugar Bowl victory would be a championship season almost any other year. But with their loss, they finished second to the undefeated LSU Tigers. Still, this was a great season. And it misleadingly signaled a great future under Battle, as did the next two 10-2 seasons. What nobody realized was this was the start of a future decline into the late 1970s.

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