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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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9. 1952 Tennessee Volunteers: 8-2-1 (5-0-1 SEC)

This was Robert Neyland’s final season as Tennessee football’s head coach, and his Vols were very close to winning a third straight national championship this season. They returned a ton of talent from that elite 1951 team. However, a close road loss to the Duke Blue Devils in the second game of the season was devastating.

Still, this team was able to get back on track and win six straight. Two of those wins came against Top 25 teams in the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Florida Gators. They then tied a third Top 25 team, the Kentucky Wildcats, before shutting out the Vanderbilt Commodores 16-0.

The Vols lost their final game to the Texas Longhorns 16-0 in the Cotton Bowl. With that loss, they actually had a worse record than some teams we left off this list. One was the 10-2-1 team of 1987. And another was the team they’re directly ahead of, the 1993 Vols.

However, this team defeated more ranked teams. On top of that, their second loss was in a bowl game, which you have to take with a grain of salt during this time because they didn’t really count. Tennessee football still managed to finish the year ranked No. 8 in the nation, and a Top 10 finish has got to count for something.

As a result, we managed to put this team on the list and above those teams. Yes, they only had eight wins. But Neyland’s final year was still impressive. And they were just a tie away from another SEC Championship.

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