1. 1997 – Peyton Manning
11-2 (7-1); SEC Championship; Orange Bowl; No. 7 AP; No. 8 Coaches
There’s no doubt about this one. Peyton Manning was a four-year starter by mistake. He was supposed to sit when he arrived on campus in 1994, but he had to take over a 1-3 team after two different injuries. He rallied Tennessee football to get them to 8-4 and never looked back.
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After going 11-1 and 10-2 in 1995 and 1996, Manning passed up the chance to be a No. 1 draft pick just so he could return for his senior season. His decision proved to be a great one. The Vols opened things up with a 52-17 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders, who would go 6-5 that year, thanks to five touchdowns from Manning.
The next week, the Vols beat the UCLA Bruins on the road 30-24 thanks to Leonard Little. UCLA fell to 0-2 but would win out and finish in the top five. So they were a good team. UT fell at the Florida Gators for a fifth straight year in the third week, though, and that signified that things would not be any better for Manning as a senior.
However, Manning did not quit. The Vols finally got Jamal Lewis in the game at running back over the next two weeks, and UT blew out the Ole Miss Rebels and Georgia Bulldogs in the process. They later dominated the Alabama Crimson Tide and held off the South Carolina Gamecocks in an ugly affair.
In the process, UT got back into the SEC title race thanks to Florida losing to the LSU Tigers and to Georgia. All of a sudden, Manning was playing in November with a chance to win the SEC. He had a rough road, though, needing hold off the eventual Conference USA Champion Southern Miss Golden Eagles and then coming back to beat the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Then he got locked into a shootout with the Kentucky Wildcats but threw for five touchdowns and over 500 yards. Finally, he held off the Vanderbilt Commodores for an ugly win. Manning delivered the finest performance of his career in the SEC Championship against the Auburn Tigers, throwing for over 370 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Vols back from 10 down to win 30-29.
Despite losing in the Orange Bowl to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Tennessee football still won the SEC this year. Manning, meanwhile, set what was then an SEC record with 3,819 passing yards, and he also threw for 36 touchdowns. Both remain school records. So it’s safe to say this is the greatest season ever by the Vols with a fourth-year starting quarterback.