1. Nov. 14, 1998
No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks at No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers
Final score: Tennessee wins 28-24
The comeback and the fumble en route to a national championship season are what people remember most about this game. But Tennessee football’s total domination on a final offensive drive gets lost in the shuffle.
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It shouldn’t. We all remember the legendary game here. The Vols had gotten to No. 1 the week before after an 8-0 start. However, the Arkansas Razorbacks reached the top 10 by also getting to an 8-0 start, and this was the game to prove if they were legit.
Well, they jumped out to a 14-0 lead and then 21-3 lead in the first half. So clearly they were. Tennessee football fought back to make it 21-10 at halftime and then made it 24-22 in the second half. Arkansas had a blocked field goal and surrendered a safety off a muffed punt. But UT’s offense could not seal the deal.
After the safety, they were stopped on fourth down near midfield. The infamous Clint Stoerner fumble then happened, giving the Vols the ball at the Arkansas 45. But they had just been stopped, so there was no reason to have faith in them.
Well, Travis Henry had other goals. The Vols did not put the ball in the air once. Henry took the first carry 17 yards to the 28-yard line. Then he took the next carry 15 yards to the 13-yard line. His very next carry was another run to get UT to the two-yard line. And then he had back to back runs, the final of which was a leap over the line for a touchdown.
A field goal would have won it, but Henry’s dominance was so impressive that we had to shout it out. He and the offensive line along with Shawn Bryson had the most superb running game you could ever see on a drive, and it’s what led to the Vols’ epic win that year, which in turn resulted in them winning the national title. That’s why this tops the list.