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Tennessee football: Vols worst loss to every current and former SEC opponent

By Caleb Calhoun

ATLANTA - DECEMBER 8: Running back Domanick Davis #31 of the LSU Tigers runs with the ball during the Southeastern Conference Championship Game against the Tennessee Volunteers on December 8, 2001 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. LSU defeated Tennessee 31-20. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - DECEMBER 8: Running back Domanick Davis #31 of the LSU Tigers runs with the ball during the Southeastern Conference Championship Game against the Tennessee Volunteers on December 8, 2001 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. LSU defeated Tennessee 31-20. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

9. Mississippi State Bulldogs (Maroons)

Year: 1950 (Away)

Final score: No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers lose 7-0

Like many teams on this list, Tennessee football had a period in which it played the Mississippi State Bulldogs every year. In the 1950s, though, they were the Mississippi State Maroons, and they had their own sabotage of an elite Robert Neyland team in 1950 specifically.

At that point, the Vols looked to be back. We mentioned the talents of guys like Hank Lauricella and Doug Atkins to restore Neyland to prominence in his third stint on Rocky Top. But in 1949, a loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets cost them a shot at the SEC title.

So with all that talent back in 1950, expectations were through the roof. It showed with the fact that they had opened the season ranked No. 4 in the nation and beat the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (then Mississippi Southern) 56-0 in their opener.

But the very next week, they suffered a brutal upset. UT traveled to Starkville to face Mississippi State, and the Bulldogs were heavy underdogs. However, they carried the momentum from a 67-0 win over Arkansas State into this game and shut out the Vols 7-0.

UT regrouped to win out, including wins over the Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats and Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl. That was enough to earn them a share of the national championship overall.

However, that loss was to a team that would end up 4-5. And it kept them from winning the national title outright. Also, despite beating Kentucky, the Vols played one less SEC game that year than the Wildcats, so they still technically had a worse record and could not claim an SEC title. Simply put, that loss cost them the SEC Championship and the undisputed national championship.

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