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

3. 1980

Starting quarterbacks: Steve Alatorre and Jeff Olszewski

Record: 5-6 (3-3)

Two years after that 5-5-1 record, Tennessee football was expecting to build off of its return to a bowl game in 1979. The problem was that Jimmy Streater had gone. Johnny Majors finally had his guys in the system, but they were all young.

And with no clear winner, he had to employ two starting quarterbacks throughout the year in Steve Alatorre and Jeff Olszewski. But like 1978, both were juniors, so this season is still able to count as a result.

The Vols got off to a heartbreaking start. They blew a 15-0 lead to the Georgia Bulldogs to lose 16-15. UGA would go on to win the national title that year. The next week, they would lose by a field goal to the no. 5 ranked USC Trojans.

Beating the Washington State Cougars, the No. 18 ranked Auburn Tigers on the road and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on the road gave false hope. This team may be back under Majors. But reality and lack of depth began to set in.

UT got complacent and lost its next four. The first two, to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Pittsburgh Panthers, were understandable. However, right after that, they suffered an embarrassing homecoming loss to the Virginia Cavaliers. Then they lost to the Ole Miss Rebels, who would finish 3-8.

So two bad losses wrecked the season and resulted in the Vols finishing 5-6. Their passing game combined had 9 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. What should have been 7-4 and could have been 8-3 or 9-2 became a losing season, but at least it was the last one Majors would have until 1988.