Tennessee football: 4 biggest upsets in Vols series vs. Georgia Bulldogs

3. 1973 Georgia upsets Tennessee 35-31

This is before the rivalry became an annual thing. The Georgia Bulldogs were a solid but on and off program under Vince Dooley, and Tennessee football was still in its prime with Bill Battle entering his fourth year at the helm.

However, the game was the turning point in a season that was a turning point during Battle’s tenure, which started a downward spiral only held off by the existence of Condredge Holloway. Well, it was an injury to Hollway that cost them in this game.

Entering the match-up, the Vols were 11-point favorites at home. They were ranked No. 11 nationally with a 6-1 record, their only loss being to Bear Bryant’s Alabama Crimson Tide. Meanwhile, Georgia was 3-3-1 and unranked.

And during the game, Tennessee football had control. They entered the fourth quarter with a 31-21 lead, one they should have held. But then Holloway got hurt, and all of a sudden, disaster struck for the Vols.

Georgia scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull off a 35-31 shocker. The win gave the Dawgs newfound momentum, as it was part of them winning four of their final five. The Vols, meanwhile, limped to 8-4, and they only got worse under Battle in future seasons, as the program began to fall apart.

To make matters worse, this was the Vols’ homecoming game. So it was an upset for the ages at Neyland Stadium, and it marked the programs going in opposite directions toward the second half of the 1970s and first half of the 1980s.