September 26, 1998
Neyland Stadium; Knoxville, Tennessee
Yes, I know it was just Houston and Tennessee could have won the game no matter who was taking the snaps, however, this was kind of Tee Martin’s coming out party. The first-year starter was coming off a massive win against the Florida Gators, so maybe a letdown was coming? He did have some pretty big shoes to fill, but he had a great team around him.
Just as the No.4 team in the country should do, the Vols handled the Cougars. The defense held Houston to only 239 yards of total offense and shut them out until the third quarter. The outstanding defensive play helped the young Martin have one of the best games of his career.
He finished 14-of-19 for 234 yards with four touchdowns. The 42 points ended up being the third-highest point output of the season in large part due to Martin’s four touchdown performance.
The Houston game started a run for the Volunteers offense where they scored at least 30 points in four out of the six games. As we know, Tennessee went on to win a National Championship that season, but we can’t dismiss all the confidence Martin gained from beating the Cougars.