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Tennessee football: Five other times Vols C-USA foes had winning records

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 04: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers shakes hands with Keon Howard #2 of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles after the game at Neyland Stadium on November 4, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 04: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers shakes hands with Keon Howard #2 of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles after the game at Neyland Stadium on November 4, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images /

5. Southern Miss Golden Eagles – 2017

Tennessee Volunteers win 24-10

Southern Miss final record: 8-5 (6-2); Independence Bowl appearance

It was just two years ago when Tennessee football last faced a C-USA team to finish the season with a winning record. And that game happened to be the last one Butch Jones would ever win as head coach of the program as well.

At the time, the Vols were in the midst of their worst season in the modern era. When the two schools faced off for UT’s homecoming the first weekend in November, Jones’s program was in the midst of a four-game losing streak and had lost five of six en route to a 3-5 record. Meanwhile, Southern Miss was in its second year under Jay Hopson and entered the game with a 5-3 record.

Arguably the worst offense in Vols history was on display. Jarrett Guarantano got his fourth start in this game, but he was knocked out due to injury. So Will McBride came in and finished the job. There was no real offense to speak of, as the Vols gained 210 total yards, but John Kelly was the star with 20 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns.

Elsewhere, Emmanuel Moseley had a pick, Kyle Phillips had two sacks, Colton Jumper had two and a half tackles for a loss and Evan Berry had a 46-yard kickoff return. So the Vols found different ways to pick up a 24-10 win that only moved them to 4-5.

However, the next week, after a 50-17 loss to the Missouri Tigers, Jones was fired in what was clearly a month too late, setting up the John Currie/Greg Schiano disaster. Southern Miss, meanwhile, won its final three regular season games only to lose 42-13 to the Florida State Seminoles in the Independence bowl.

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