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Tennessee football’s five worst years with senior QB

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 08: Quarterback Rick Clausen #16 of the Tennessee Volunteers throws a pass during a game against the Georgia Bulldogs on October 8, 2005 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Bulldogs defeated the Vols 27-14. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 08: Quarterback Rick Clausen #16 of the Tennessee Volunteers throws a pass during a game against the Georgia Bulldogs on October 8, 2005 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Bulldogs defeated the Vols 27-14. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images /

5. 1979

Jimmy Streater

7-5 (3-3)

Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl

Although this is one of the worst seasons, it signified a turning point for Tennessee football. Johnnie Majors took over in 1977, and the program was falling apart. He installed his vertical passing attack that won him a national championship with the Pittsburgh Panthers, but it produced poor results with a bad program, going 4-7 and 5-5-1 his first two years.

Part of that was due to Jimmy Streater, a quarterback recruited more for Bill Battle’s option schemes. By 1979 Majors had been able to tailor his system to Streater’s mobility, but he still only completed Streater completed 49.7 percent of his passes for 1,256 yards, nine touchdowns and 18 interceptions while running for 377 yards and seven touchdowns.

This team took a step forward in his senior year. But its problem was inconsistency. Every time it reached the top 25, it lost. UT got off to a 3-0 start, highlighted by a 35-17 win over the Auburn Tigers and reached No. 19 before losing to the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Then they got back in the top 25 after beating the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and stayed there, even after losing to the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. But while staying there, they lost to the unranked Rutger Scarlet Knights.

After beating the No. 13 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish 40-18, to get back into the top 25, they lost to the Ole Miss Rebels. They then beat the Kentucky Wildcats and Vanderbilt Commodores before losing their bowl game to the No. 12 Purdue Boilermakers.

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