Tennessee football: Vols top 10 now defunct rivalries in history

4. North Carolina Tar Heels

All-time series: Tennessee leads 20-11-1

Years rivalry existed:

• 1945-1961 (Vols record: 13-4)

A battle between two schools on different sides of the Appalachian Mountains dates back to 1893. The North Carolina Tar Heels beat Tennessee football that year, were their only loss in 1897, and then again when the two became full-time SIAA members in 1900. In 1908, however, the Vols finally got a win. When the two first met as Southern Conference foes, in Robert Neyland’s first year at that, UNC held a 4-1-1 advantage.

However, the Vols won five straight from 1926 to 1932 as Southern Conference rivalries, and then they joined the SEC  and won another one in 1934 before Robert Neyland’s first stint ended. In the year after him and 1936, the start of his second stint, UT lost two straight. However, he had assured the program would have a winning record against UNC before the rivalry took off in 1945.

At that point, Tennessee football was set to begin an Appalachia rivalry with both Duke and UNC, two North Carolina schools, that lasted from John Barnhill through Bowden Wyatt. Notable games included a 20-14 win by the Vols in 1946 when both teams were in the top 10 and 35-6 upset win by Rocky Top in 1949 at the No. 13 ranked Tar Heels, which set the stage for Neyland’s final run.

That began a nine-game winning streak for the program, and they won 13 of 17 games during this run. After it came to an end in 1961, the two wouldn’t meet again until the Music City Bowl in Derek Dooley’s first season, and that was the game that created the runoff rule in college football. UNC won it in overtime.