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Tennessee football: Ranking Vols six past Gator Bowl games by memorability

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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Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images /

5. 1966 (Dec. 31)

Defeated Syracuse 18-12

Final record: 8-3 (3-2); No. 14 Coaches

Seven years before the 1973 Gator Bowl was the last time Tennessee football had finished a season with three losses or more. The year before, Doug Dickey had appeared to restore the program by leading them to an 8-1-2 record and top 10 finish.

This year, in his third season as head coach, they were expected to take a major leap. However, after getting to No. 10 in the second week of the season, they suffered heartbreaking losses to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Alabama Crimson Tide in back to back weeks by a combined four points.

After getting to 5-2 and No. 10, they then lost to the Ole Miss Rebels 14-7. Anyway, they finished 7-3. On the other side, Syracuse started the year ranked No. 7 but then began things 0-2. Still, they won every game after that. So they entered this one 8-2.

The game itself was a thriller for Rocky Top. Dewey Warren, firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback, had 244 passing yards and two touchdown passes to help spot the Vols an 18-0 first-half lead en route to an MVP performance. Syracuse came back with two touchdowns in the second half to make it 18-12, but the final one was with 46 seconds left.

Since the AP Poll at the time did not release rankings after bowl games, the Vols did not finish ranked in that one. However, they did finish No. 14 in the Coaches’ Poll with this win. And their play set the stage for their 1967 national championship season.

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