Honorable Mentions
1971 Liberty Bowl vs. No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks
No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers win 14-13
Bill Battle was looking for his second straight year of 10-plus wins. Tennessee football did it in dramatic fashion in Memphis. With little time to go, the Arkansas Razorbacks fumbled the ball up 13-7. UT then ran three plays and went 34 yards to score a touchdown with less than two minutes to go to win 14-13. Curt Watson scored the game-winner.
1974 Liberty Bowl vs. No. 10 Maryland Terrapins
No. 20 Tennessee Volunteers win 7-3
Condredge Holloway had the epic drive against the Clemson Tigers to turn around Tennessee football’s 1974 season. But he got hurt in this game, and the Vols were down 3-0 to the end. Then the Maryland Terrapins mishandled a snap on a punt that spotted UT the ball at the 7-yard-line. Only needing seven yards is why this drive isn’t in the top 10, but Randy Wallace did hit Larry Seivers on a crucial third down for the 7-3 victory with under three minutes to go. That puts it on the list.
1983 at No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide
Tennessee Volunteers win 41-34
Tennessee football was looking for its second straight win over the Alabama Crimson Tide, but it didn’t come easy. In a shootout, the Vols got the ball with three minutes to go. But rather than wait for a long drive to win, Johnny Jones just took a carry 66 yards to the house for a touchdown. Then the Vols’ defense held. Jones’s long run was technically a drive, so it’s on this list.
1991 at No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers win 35-34
Again, this comes down to a play. The Vols had been stopped by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the previous drive after mounting a furious comeback. Once down 31-7 and now down 34-28, they got the ball back, and Phillip Fulmer made the greatest timed screen pass call in history, which Aaron Hayden took to the house. Since a defensive stand after that won the game, this didn’t make the list. But it was a superb enough call to make us remember the drive.
1999 Memphis Tigers
No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers win 17-16
Three years removed from the first loss in school history to Memphis, the Vols almost did it again, this time at home. They were down 16-10 late. But a deep pass from Tee Martin to Bobby Graham allowed them to score a game-winning touchdown off a pass to Cedrick Wilson. The drive itself was great, and it was against a great defensive team in the Tigers who lost to three ranked SEC schools that year by a combined 7 points. But it was still Memphis, so it didn’t make the list.