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Tennessee Vols: Five previous events that cancelled or postponed athletics

By Caleb Calhoun

01 Dec 2001: Rex Grossman #8 of Florida throws the ball during the Florida-Tennessee game at Florida Field at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Tennessee won 34-32. DIGITAL IMAGE Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons/ALLSPORT
01 Dec 2001: Rex Grossman #8 of Florida throws the ball during the Florida-Tennessee game at Florida Field at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Tennessee won 34-32. DIGITAL IMAGE Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons/ALLSPORT /
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Photo by Andy Lyons/AllSport
Photo by Andy Lyons/AllSport /

4. 2001

Sept. 11 terrorist attacks

Tennessee Volunteers football at Florida Gators postponed until Saturday, Dec. 1, 2001

One of the greatest tragedies in American history had a profound impact on college football. After the Twin Towers went down in New York, everything was cancelled for two weeks. The SEC, however, was still trying to play its games the following Saturday, with the Tennessee Vols and Florida Gators set to face off. That was their marquee game every year at the time.

UT was a 12-point underdog the week of after looking ugly in a 2-0 start. It wouldn’t matter. The SEC finally did the right thing and postponed the game, moving every game that day to Dec. 1 and then moving the SEC Championship, which was scheduled that day, back a week. What that ended up doing was setting the stage for the watershed moment in the Tennessee-Florida rivalry.

On Dec. 1, both teams entered the game with a 9-1 record. The winner would move up to No. 2 in the BCS standings and go play for the SEC Championship. In a December thriller, the 18-point underdog Vols shocked Florida, winning in The Swamp for the first time since 1971. That earned them their SEC Championship trip.

Ironically, though, they would suffer a major upset loss to the LSU Tigers in the title game, costing them the SEC and a shot at the national title. It was ironic because LSU was the first team the Vols played after the 9/11 attacks months before, and they had actually won that game in a blowout. The program finished in the top five that year, but it has never recovered from that loss.

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