Tennessee football: Vols win over Auburn ended 15 losing streaks

10. Games against teams from Alabama (6 games)

Last win: 2013; Tennessee beats South Alabama 31-24

Now here’s one you didn’t expect to see. And if you did, you probably expected to see it go way back given Tennessee football’s losing streak to the Alabama Crimson Tide. After all, by playing that team from Alabama every year, this streak should be much larger.

However, the Vols got a break in 2013 by getting to play the South Alabama Jaguars. It was Butch Jones’s first year, and the team was 2-2 after two straight road losses to the Oregon Ducks and the Florida Gators.

They came back home to face a bad South Alabama team that was new to FBS. And they needed an ugly win to make sure they got this one. But hey, they beat a team from Alabama 31-24. Their last win against a team from the state was in overtime back in 2010 against the UAB Blazers.

So they’ve actually beaten two teams from Alabama this decade. But after that win in 2013, they lost to both the Tide and the Auburn Tigers that year. Then, they lost to Alabama in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. And they only put up a fight in 2015.

So this team was on a six-game losing streak to Alabama that dated back to 2013, but a key win over Auburn ended that streak. This is why the win was another huge deal for Tennessee football, even if we shortened the losing streak with a cheap win in 2013.