Tennessee football: 10 memorable games that gave Vols help in SEC race
1. Dec. 2, 1989
No. 11 Auburn Tigers vs. No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide
Final score: Auburn wins 30-20
While rooting against the Florida Gators was commonplace for Tennessee football during their peak years of the 1990s, the year that kicked off their elite run of 16 straight bowl appearances, 13 straight top 25 finishes, four SEC championships and a national championship came with a different rivalry.
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At this time, the Vols were usually rooting against the Alabama Crimson Tide in big matchups, and this year was no different. After a 5-6 1988 campaign that saw them win their final five games, UT rebounded to start off 1989 with a 5-0 record. As was usual, though, they found some way to lose to Alabama, this time dealing with the distractions of Reggie Cobb’s dismissal.
Still, the Vols won their next four to get to 9-1. Alabama, meanwhile, made it to 10-0. And in the Iron Bowl this year, they would face the 8-2 Auburn Tigers. However, Auburn and the Vols were both 5-1 in the SEC while Alabama was 6-0. And UT had beaten Auburn earlier in the year.
As a result, if Auburn won the Iron Bowl, the Vols, Tide and Tigers would share the SEC Championship. So this game was the difference between an SEC title and no SEC title, giving Johnny Majors’s program a huge reason to pay attention to it.
However, they had to take care of business themselves, and that included beating the Vanderbilt Commodores. It was an ugly game, but the Vols managed to hold on for a 17-10 victory to finish 10-1 and 6-1 in the SEC. In the first Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn did its part to favor the Vols.
The Tigers had won three straight against Alabama, as Pat Dye owned Bill Curry. Trailing 10-7 in this one at halftime, though, things looked bleak for Auburn. But then they reeled of 20 straight points to go up 27-10 in the second half. It was total domination against a Tide team thinking about a national championship.
Auburn ended up winning the game 30-20, and while they celebrated on the field, Vol fans celebrated winning a share of the SEC from home. Alabama would also capture a share of it even with the loss, but they wouldn’t celebrate it that day.
Next. Projecting the Vols' 2019 2-deep depth chart. dark
Tennessee football used the momentum to win the Cotton Bowl over the Arkansas Razorbacks, while the Tide lost to the Miami Hurricanes. So the Vols would finish 11-1 while Auburn and Alabama finished 10-2, making them the highest ranked team of the SEC co-champions. That all came back to this game, and it’s why it’s the best one Vol fans ever watched without their team.