All for Tennessee
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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 John Sommers II/Getty Images
Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images /

15. Tulane Green Wave

Year: 1923 (Home)

Final score: Tennessee wins 13-2

The Tulane Green Wave were original members of the SEC, joining in 1933 and staying through 1965. But Tennessee football only played Tulane twice while they were in the league, in 1962 and 1963, and they won both against Green Wave teams who were winless in the conference.

Those years, the Vols were 4-6 and 5-5, so nothing was memorable about their seasons. Their only other three games against Tulane were in 1967, when they beat a 3-7 Green Wave team, and two matchups before the SEC began. One was in 1924, the only time Tulane beat them, and the other was in 1923.

By default, 1923 is the only year we can say the Vols had any notable win over Tulane. It’s the first time both schools ever met, and they both would finish the year with winning records. Tennessee controlled the game for a 13-2 victory, and it was part of a 5-4-1 season. They beat a Tulane team that did finish 6-3-1. The win put them above .500 for the first time that season at 3-2-1.

Ironically, for such an insignificant series, the Vols and Green Wave are connected from 1998. UT’s greatest season, Tulane was the only other undefeated team that year. But the Vols won the national title, and the two never met. If they had with new College Football rules, well, there might be a different game on this list. Right now, though, 1923 is the only one that makes it.

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