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Tennessee football: Ranking Vols 15 seasons after consecutive years of no bowl

By Caleb Calhoun

JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Tennessee Volunteers players celebrate following the TaxSlayer Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes at EverBank Field on January 2, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 45-28. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Tennessee Volunteers players celebrate following the TaxSlayer Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes at EverBank Field on January 2, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 45-28. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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6. 1955

Bowden Wyatt: 6-3-1 (3-2-1)

No postseason accomplishments

Before the program began its downward slide under him, Bowden Wyatt had initiated a rebuilding process for Tennessee football when he took over in 1955. Wyatt was named head coach after Harvey Robinson, a longtime Robert Neyland assistant, could not keep the program going in 1953 and 1954, sliding to 6-4-1 and 4-6 before getting fired.

So Wyatt, who played for Neyland and had success with the Wyoming Cowboys and Arkansas Razorbacks, was coming home. In six years at Wyoming, he went 39-17-1 with two conference titles, 10-0 season and a top 15 finish. He then had an 11-10 record at Arkansas and was coming off an 8-3 season, Southwest Title and top 10 finish when heading to Rocky Top.

But those two years under Robinson meant UT had not made a bowl since Neyland retired. Wyatt had a rocky start with a 13-7 loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs and 21-0 loss to eventual ACC co-champion Duke Blue Devils.

However, his team then got red-hot. The Vols took advantage of an easy schedule to beat Chattanooga, the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Dayton Flyers and the North Carolina Tar Heels to get to 4-2. They then had a surprising tie against the No. 8 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets before beating the Florida Gators to get to 5-2-1 and in the top 20.

A loss to the Kentucky Wildcats knocked them back out of the rankings, but they closed the season out with a thrilling 20-14 win over the No. 19 ranked Vanderbilt Commodores. So a quality win and quality tie allowed them to finish 6-3-1. They would miss a bowl for a third straight year, but this showed they were on their way back.

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