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Tennessee football: Vols 5 worst seasons with a junior starting quarterback

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 19: Justin Worley #14 of the Tennessee Volunteers throws a pass in the first half of the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium on October 19, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 19: Justin Worley #14 of the Tennessee Volunteers throws a pass in the first half of the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium on October 19, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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4. 1978

Starting quarterback: Jimmy Streater

Record: 5-5-1 (3-3)

This is another year in which Tennessee football actually played two quarterbacks at different times. Jimmy Streater, the electrifying playmaker of the late 1970s, got the bulk of the starts. But David Rudder also got some action. Still, he was also a junior, so this season still works.

Johnny Majors was entering his second year on Rocky Top. After winning a national title with the Pittsburgh Panthers in 1976, he was coming home to his alma mater in 1977, a program he led to an SEC title in 1956 and almost won the Heisman at. It was the perfect homecoming.

However, 1977 was a major dose of reality. Majors’s offensive changes and the structural issues facing the Vols resulted in their worst season ever, going 4-7. So rebuilding would take some time, and this would be the turnaround year.

It didn’t happen. Despite rushing for 593 yards and 10 touchdowns, Streater threw only 4 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. The Vols started the year 0-2-1 with a loss to the UCLA bruins, a tie with the Oregon State Beavers and another loss to the Auburn Tigers. Then they beat the Army Black Knights before losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Mississippi State Bulldogs.

At 1-4-1, they beat the Duke Blue Devils but lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. So they were 2-5-1 in a horrendous start. However, the program finally regrouped and won the final three games to finish 5-5-1. It set the stage for a return to a bowl game in 1979. But this year itself was another bad one.

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