All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: Vols 5 most thrilling victories over Florida Gators

By Caleb Calhoun

19 Sep 1998: General view of fans taking down the goalposts following a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at the Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers defeated the Gators 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /
19 Sep 1998: General view of fans taking down the goalposts following a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at the Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers defeated the Gators 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons / /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Photo by Andy Lyons/AllSport
Photo by Andy Lyons/AllSport /

4. 2001: Tennessee beats Florida 34-32

To many, this game should be much higher on the list. And when you look at its magnitude, they have a point. Tennessee football hadn’t beaten the Gators in The Swamp in 30 years when these two teams met on this day. And it was a unique meeting because the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks pushed this game to the end of the regular season for once.

Both teams were 9-1 and in the top 5. The winner would clinch the SEC East and almost certainly move up to No. 2 in the BCS, so the division, conference and even national title were on the line. Adding to the drama, Florida was the No. 2 team at the time, Rex Grossman was the Heisman favorite, and the Vols were 18-point underdogs.

There couldn’t be anymore motivation in the series for the Vols, who were cheated out of a win the previous year and had lost two straight in the series by a combined six points. Taking all of this into account, the win itself made this legendary,

However, we put this No. 4 on the list because as thrilling as it was, the finish wasn’t as dramatic as it could have been. What’s lost in the game is really how much Tennessee football dominated. They ran it down Florida’s throat, shut down the Gator rushing attack, and kept Grossman under pressure all night.

Sure, the Vols had to stop a Florida two-point conversion and not allow them to recover an onside kick in order to win. But they led almost the entire fourth quarter. In fact, the only reason Florida had a chance to tie late is because Phillip Fulmer made a poor decision to go for two after a go-ahead touchdown and the refs kept a Florida scoring drive alive by missing what was a clear fumble. In reality, the Vols dominated.

But this game still belongs on the list because it still had a thrilling enough finish. And the magnitude made it that much sweeter. The win was so devastating that Steve Spurrier even decided to resign at the end of the year, meaning he lost his last game in The Swamp. We’ll just ignore the fact that the Vols had their worst loss in history a week later to the LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship, blowing a chance at the national title.

Home/Vols Football