Tennessee football: Vols top 10 now defunct rivalries in history

5. Duke Blue Devils

All-time series: Tennessee leads 14-12-2

Years rivalry existed:

• 1931-1937 (Vols record: 4-2-1)
• 1946-1956 (Vols record: 4-6-1)

These two schools have a connection now with David Cutcliffe coaching the Duke Blue Devils. However, as hard as it is to believe, back in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, Duke had a football powerhouse at times. After all, they won 13 conference titles, either Southern or ACC, from 1933 to 1962 with Wallace Wade and William D. Murray leading them.

This program also got a couple of unclaimed national titles, notably in 1936. That year, they became the first team Tennessee football ever played. And in Robert Neyland’s first year of his second stint, the Vols shocked Duke, who was ranked No. 2 at the time, becoming their only loss for the season. The two were in the midst of playing each other for seven consecutive years.

UT and Duke started as Southern Conference rivals, but it remained when the Vols joined the SEC. Neyland and the Vols didn’t hit their golden age, ironically, until after they stopped playing Duke in the late 1930s. However, they hit their silver age at the height of the second stint of the rivalry, when the two played each other from the start of Neyland’s third stint through Bowden Wyatt.

During that time, Duke won more games. These two have a deeper history, even into the 1980s, when Steve Spurrier upset the Vols twice, once as Duke’s offensive coordinator and another time as their head coach. So they certainly have connections.