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Tennessee football: Ranking all 17 Vols conference championship teams

By Caleb Calhoun

6 Dec 1997: Peerless Price #37 of Tennessee runs into the endzone for a touchdown during the Volunteers 30-29 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
6 Dec 1997: Peerless Price #37 of Tennessee runs into the endzone for a touchdown during the Volunteers 30-29 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. /
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Photo by Joe Patronite /Allsport
Photo by Joe Patronite /Allsport /

8. 1989

11-1 (6-1)

No. 5 AP and Coaches; W Cotton Bowl

Just like the 1997 SEC Championship team, Tennessee football won the SEC title in 1989 despite a road loss, by a decent margin, to one of its rivals. And just like the 1997 team, they won 11 games on the season.

This was the turnaround team on Rocky Top. Johnny Majors went 5-6 with a very young squad in 1988, but his team started 0-6 and then finished with five straight wins. They continued that momentum into this year with a 5-0 start, including two victories over top 10 teams when they played them, the UCLA Bruins and Auburn Tigers.

However, after getting to No. 6 with that start, a suspension to Reggie Cobb combined with a young defense resulted in a heartbreaking loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. That game wasn’t really close, as UT lost 47-30.

Still, the Vols managed to win out after that game, and when Auburn beat Alabama in the final week of the regular season, it resulted in a three-way tie for the SEC title between the schools. Since they won a co-championship, this could have been lower on the list.

But the Vols then won their Cotton Bowl against the Southwest Champion Arkansas Razorbacks. Auburn already had two regular season losses, and Alabama lost the Sugar Bowl to the Miami Hurricanes. As a result, UT finished as the only top 5 team and one-loss team in the SEC.

Combining that with the fact that they played every team in the league with a winning record outside of the Florida Gators allows us to move them ahead of the 1997 team. Andy Kelly, Chuck Webb, Eric Still, Carl Pickens, Alvin Harper, Anthony Morgan and Antone Davis were all key stars on this team.

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