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Tennessee football: Vols 10 greatest comeback wins in school history

By Caleb Calhoun

Aaron Hayden #24, Running Back for the University of Tennessee Volunteers runs the ball during the NCAA Southeastern Conference college football game against the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish on 9 November 1991 at the Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 35 - 34. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images)
Aaron Hayden #24, Running Back for the University of Tennessee Volunteers runs the ball during the NCAA Southeastern Conference college football game against the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish on 9 November 1991 at the Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 35 - 34. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images /

6. Nov. 17, 2007

Vanderbilt Commodores at No. 19 Tennessee Volunteers

Final score: Tennessee Vols win 25-24

Tennessee football’s comeback win over the Georgia Bulldogs in 2015 turned them around back into a nine-win, top 25 caliber program for a couple of years. This comeback win was in the last season before then that they were such a program.

After a 1-2 start, the Vols used a shocking dominating win over the Georgia Bulldogs, an easy SEC West schedule and late-season resiliency while benefitting from three losses by the Florida Gators to control their own destiny to win the East. However, the Vanderbilt Commodores were a dangerous program at the time under Bobby Johnson.

They would have to get past Vandy and the Kentucky Wildcats, who had beaten the eventual national champion LSU Tigers earlier in the year, to make it to Atlanta. Kentucky was brutal enough and had UT looking past Vandy for a minute.

So on Senior Day, Erik Ainge looked horrible through three quarters. Combining that with a failed PAT and a defense that couldn’t get a stop had the Vols trailing 24-9 in the fourth quarter. As they punted the ball at one point, all hope seemed lost, but the lucky play of the century came. Vanderbilt got a roughing the kicker penalty.

UT got new life and drove in for the score to make it a one-possession game. They later drove 83 yards for another touchdown to make it 24-22. However, after failing on the two-point conversion, Vandy was still in control. Then the Vols forced another punt, and a return by Dennis Rogan set up a go-ahead field goal.

Daniel Lincoln nailed the kick. Vanderbilt drove down the field with one last chance, but they missed a potential game-winning field goal. So the Vols scored three times, 16 points overall, in the fourth quarter to win 25-24. A 52-50 four-overtime win over Kentucky the next week clinched them the East.

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