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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 / /
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Photo by Andy Lyons /Allsport
Photo by Andy Lyons /Allsport /

1. 1998: Tennessee beats Florida 20-17 in OT

Again, we’re going by thrilling wins. And the only time Neyland Stadium was ever louder than James Wilhoit’s game-winning field goal in 2004 was Collins Cooper’s missed field goal in 1998. That miss allowed for elation and relief after years of frustration.

No doubt Tennessee football’s most exciting win in the series, the magnitude was as big as the thrilling win itself. After all, this game propelled UT to a national championship. The Vols were defending SEC Champions but supposed to be rebuilding this year after losing six All-SEC performers and two All-Americans, including No. 1 draft pick and arguably greatest Vol ever Peyton Manning.

They had lost to the Gators for five straight times, and were 1-0 with Tee Martin after needing a last-second field goal to beat Syracuse in their opener 34-33. Spurrier’s Gators, meanwhile, were 2-0 and ranked No. 2 in the nation.

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While the Vols have given numerous games away to Florida, this is one we can honestly say the Gators gave away. Alternating between Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer at quarterback, Spurrier’s offense generated 409 passing yards. Tennessee’s offense as a whole gained only 235 yards, and Tee Martin only had 84 yards passing.

But there was this guy on defense named Al Wilson. And he exploded onto the scene in this game. Wilson forced three fumbles in the first half, including one in which the Gators were inside the five-yard line. The Vols forced two more turnovers in the second half, including a great interception by Deon Grant, to force five overall, while they only committed one themselves.

Meanwhile, they came away with big plays on offense at just the right times. This included a 57-yard touchdown run on a fullback handoff to Shawn Bryson in the first half that caught everybody off-guard and gave the Vols a 7-3 lead. In fact, given Florida’s dominance early over the Vols the previous two games, that was the confidence they needed.

The other big play was a beautiful touchdown pass from Martin to Peerless Price in the second half. While defense was the story of the game, those key plays made all the difference. Adding to the thriller was the fact that the game went to overtime, and it was the first overtime in school history for the Vols.

Things got more thrilling there. Tennessee football was actually knocked out of field goal range, and Martin had to scramble on third and long to at least give Jeff Hall what would be a difficult but makable kick. Well, Hall then came through with the big play, drilling a 41-yarder from the left hash mark.

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Finally came the Vols’ defense. After giving up one first down, they held the Gators out of the end zone, largely thanks to a huge hit by Wilson on 2nd down. Then came Collins Cooper to try the game-tying field goal, and he barely missed. In fact, to this day, it sometimes look like he made it. Either way, Tennessee football won its most thrilling game over Florida ever, and fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts, the last time that happened on Rocky Top. So this game is clearly No. 1 on the list.

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