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Ranking Tennessee football’s 10 years after coach’s first bowl game

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: General view of a Tennessee Volunteers flag during a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: General view of a Tennessee Volunteers flag during a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images
Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images /

4. 1957: 8-3 (4-3)

W Gator Bowl; No. 13 AP; No. 16 Coaches

Coming off Bowden Wyatt’s first bowl game

Before Phillip Fulmer took over, Tennessee football’s best season after Robert Neyland’s departure was 1956. That year, the Vols went 10-0 in the regular season, won the SEC Championship and had a legitimate claim to share the national title, even though they didn’t. Johnny Majors also got robbed of the Heisman Trophy that year.

Although they lost their bowl game, that was still a legendary season. It was Bowden Wyatt’s second season on the job, as Robert Neyland had hired him to replace Harvey Robinson, who was Neyland’s direct successor and proved ineffective. Heading into 1957, Wyatt had lots of that elite talent returning, keeping expectations high with a No. 8 preseason ranking.

However, while the Vols didn’t lose lots of talent, they lost key talent from the 1956 team, most notably Majors. So they lost their opener 7-0 to the Auburn Tigers. Still, they won six straight after that before losing 14-7 to the No. 8 ranked Ole Miss Rebels and 20-6 in an upset loss to the Kentucky Wildcats.  As a result, they finished the regular season 7-3.

To make things a lot sweeter for them, they faced the Texas A&M Aggies and Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow in the Gator Bowl to close things out. This would be Bear Bryant’s last game with them before taking over the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the Vols wrecked it for him, winning a defensive struggle 3-0.

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