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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 Streeter Lecka/Getty Images /

14. Sewanee Tigers

Year: 1902 (Home)

Final score: Tennessee wins 6-0

The Sewanee Tigers are always the SEC school everybody forgets about. They’re an original member, but they are the only school to ever be part of the league that is not playing FBS ball right now. In fact, they are playing Division III ball.

Still, back in the prehistoric days of college football, Tennessee football played third fiddle in the state. Sewanee and Vanderbilt were the two premiere schools in the South, and they were a major rivalry. and both owned the Vols in the 1890s. In fact, they both led in the head to head series matchups over Rocky Top until 1937. However, the Sewanee streak saw the first cracks in it.

That came way back in 1902. The University of the South, just 90 miles southeast of Nashville, beat UT in 1891, twice in 1892 and in 1899. In 1902, they headed into Knoxville with a 3-1 record, their only loss coming to the Texas Longhorns.

The Vols, meanwhile, were 2-1 and coming off a loss to Vanderbilt of all teams. Both schools were in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association at the time (SIAA) and were still in the hunt for the conference title. Well, UT finally got that elusive victory over the Tigers, winning 6-0. In the process, they would finish the year 6-2 and 4-2 in the SIAA.

This became a high-quality win, as it was Sewanee’s last loss of the year en route to finishing 7-2. That quality combined with the end of the losing streak is why it’s the Vols’ best win against the Tigers. Sewanee, however, would then win six in a row. But UT would win the final 11 to take the series lead 12-10 by 1939. They left the league after 1940.

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