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Tennessee football: Vols greatest win vs. every current and former SEC opponent

By Caleb Calhoun

6 Dec 1997: Jamal Lewis #31 of Tennessee leaps over a pile of players for a touchdown during the Volunteers 30-29 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
6 Dec 1997: Jamal Lewis #31 of Tennessee leaps over a pile of players for a touchdown during the Volunteers 30-29 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. /
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Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

7. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (No. 2)

Year: 1956 (Away)

Final score: No. 3 Tennessee wins 6-0

Tennessee football and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets once had a fierce rivalry. Remember, Georgia Tech was in the SEC through 1963, and even after that, the Vols and them played each other every year until 1973 after starting in 1955. They then played every year from 1976 to 1987 except for 1978.

Simply put, these two teams had some bad blood. But this was the peak of the rivalry. At the time, the schools were led by former Robert Neyland proteges. Bobby Dodd played for Neyland’s first stint from 1928 to 1930 and was leading the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Meanwhile, Bowden Wyatt, who played from Neyland from 1936 to 1938, was leading the Vols.

The year before, the teams had tied 7-7. This year, both teams had national championship expectations. Georgia Tech was the heavy favorite to win the SEC, starting the year ranked No.  4 in the nation. The Vols, however, got into the top 10 after their season-opening win over the Auburn Tigers.

Both teams got off to 6-0 starts, and that got Dodd’s Yellow Jackets to No. 2 in the nation with a 4-0 SEC record, while the Vols at the time had 2-0 conference record. But Georgia Tech had beaten a top 15 and a top 5 team, and UT had yet to beat a ranked team. So they traveled to Atlanta ranked No. 3 but with many questions. The winner of this game would go to the Sugar Bowl.

Questions about the Vols were answered in this game. The elite passing of eventual Heisman runner-up Johnny Majors and a late-game interception preserved a 6-0 victory for Tennessee football. It’s easily their best win over Georgia Tech, as it secured them an SEC title en route to a 10-0 regular season, one that made them claim they should’ve won the national title.

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