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Ranking Tennessee football seasons with 4th-year starting QB

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge during the 2007 Outback Bowl between Penn State and Tennessee at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on January 1, 2007. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge during the 2007 Outback Bowl between Penn State and Tennessee at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on January 1, 2007. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images /

3. 2007 – Erik Ainge

10-4 (6-2); SEC East; W Outback Bowl; No. 12 AP and Coaches

After a rocky career on Rocky Top, Erik Ainge was clearly Tennessee football’s starter entering 2007. Ainge led the Vols to a shocking SEC East championship as a freshman in 2004, but he suffered a season-ending injury in November. He then had a major drop-off in 2005 and couldn’t handle competition from Rick Clausen, only starting half the year en route to a 5-6 season.

In 2006, David Cutcliffe returned, and the Vols rebounded to go 9-4 and win the Outback Bowl. Entering his senior year, Ainge was the leader of the team, as the Vols would lose Robert Meachem, their top receiver, to the NFL.

The year started out really rough, as UT lost 45-31 to the Cal Golden Bears and then 59-20 to the Florida Gators. However, at 1-2, they began to regroup. With a 2-2 record, the Vols dominated the Georgia Bulldogs 35-14. Florida lost to the Auburn Tigers and LSU Tigers, and Georgia had already lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

So the SEC East was wide open, but after losing to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Vols let it slip away by getting dominated against the Alabama Crimson Tide. However, a week later, Georgia beat Florida, and UT held off South Carolina in overtime. So the Vols had the tiebreaker over the Dawgs and Gamecocks, and UF had three conference losses.

Rocky Top, finally got hot in November. Ainge and Arian Foster led the way. With an elite offensive line, Ainge was only sacked three times all year, and his clutch gene came through the last two regular season games.

Against the Vanderbilt Commodores, Ainge threw three touchdown passes to lead the Vols back from 24-9 to win 25-24. Then, against the Kentucky Wildcats, Ainge threw a school-record seven touchdowns in a four-overtime game, leading UT to a 52-50 win. The result was Rocky Top winning the SEC East.

In the SEC title game, Ainge struggled late, causing the Vols to lose a 21-14 heartbreaker to the eventual national champion LSU Tigers. However, he had 365 yards and two touchdowns in Tennessee football’s Outback Bowl win over the Wisconsin Badgers, allowing them to finish 10-4. So it was still a decent season, and winning the East counts for something.

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