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Tennessee football: Vols five best seasons with a horrible upset loss

By Caleb Calhoun

1 Jan 1997: Defensive backs Terry Fair and Cory Gaines of the Tennessee Volunteers slap hands during the Florida Citrus Bowl game against the Northwestern Wildcats at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Tennessee won the game 48-28. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /Allsport
1 Jan 1997: Defensive backs Terry Fair and Cory Gaines of the Tennessee Volunteers slap hands during the Florida Citrus Bowl game against the Northwestern Wildcats at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Tennessee won the game 48-28. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /Allsport /
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4. 1957

Lost to Kentucky Wildcats 20-6

8-3 (4-3); No. 13 AP; No. 16 Coaches; W Gator Bowl

We go from Johnny Majors’s last year as Tennessee football’s head coach to 35 years before, the Vols’ first year without Majors as a player following his All-American 1956 season and their SEC Championship. Gen. Robert Neyland protege Bowden Wyatt had a good team again in 1957, even without Majors.

The Vols opened the season in the top 10 and faced the Auburn Tigers. They lost that game 7-0 in what seemed like an upset at the time. However, Auburn went on to go 10-0 and finish ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Anyway, the Vols reeled off six straight wins after that, highlighted by another memorable victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets when both teams were in the top 20. That win got them to No. 7 in the nation, but they lost the next week to the Ole Miss Rebels. Still, they were a top 15 team. A horrible upset then followed, though.

With a 2-7 record and 0 conference wins, the Kentucky Wildcats hosted UT. And they pulled of what might have been the biggest upset in the series. By the way, similar to the Georgia State Panthers on Saturday, UK dominated the game, winning 20-6. So it was a major embarrassment.

Still, Wyatt’s team recovered to beat the Vanderbilt Commodores, and ranked No. 13 in the nation, they accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl to face the No. 9 ranked Texas A&M Aggies. The Vols won that game 3-0, a memorable win over Bear Bryant, continuing to prove their ownership of him. So they would finish 8-3 and in the top 15, making this a good season.

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