Tennessee football’s five worst years with senior QB
2. 1988
Jeff Francis
5-6 (3-4)
*No postseason
This was the season that set the stage for Tennessee football’s best run of the modern era. However, it was a brutal start, and it involved a senior quarterback who had much higher expectations for the year, as this team was coming off a 10-2-1 campaign.
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Jeff Francis was a two-years starter and had a habit of strong finishes. However, this was a very young team, and Francis himself was the reason for the Vols beginning the preseason ranked No. 18. That ended immediately, as they lost their opener to the No. 12 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. It only got worse from there.
UT lost at home to Steve Spurrier’s Duke Blue Devils, then they lost to the No. 9 ranked LSU Tigers, No. 4 ranked Auburn Tigers, Washington State Cougars and No. 20 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Every one of those teams finished with a winning record, and all but Duke finished in the top 25. So this was a brutal start to the schedule.
However, the Vols regrouped. Knowing they couldn’t reach a bowl, they didn’t quit, and they won their final five games, starting with a win at the Memphis State Tigers and then a 10-7 win over the Boston College Eagles. They finished beating the Ole Miss Rebels, Kentucky Wildcats and Vanderbilt Commodores.
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As a result, the Vols finished 5-6. Francis completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 2,237 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns. UT built off that streak to go 11-1 the next year and begin a 16-year run that included bowl games every year, 13 straight top 25 finishes, four SEC Championships and a national championship.