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Tennessee football’s 10 most unlucky losses of all time

By Caleb Calhoun

BATON ROUGE, LA - OCTOBER 02: The Louisiana State University Fighting Tigers celebrate after defeating the University of Tennessee 16-14 at Tiger Stadium on October 2, 2010 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - OCTOBER 02: The Louisiana State University Fighting Tigers celebrate after defeating the University of Tennessee 16-14 at Tiger Stadium on October 2, 2010 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images
Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images /

Final/OT. 30. 838. 27. 839

10. 2010 Music City Bowl: UNC exploits no 10-second runoff for win

It was the game that changed a crucial rule in college football. Tennessee football entered this bowl game on a four-game winning streak to get to 6-6 in Derek Dooley’s first year. Given all the issues facing the program, it generated lots of excitement for the future, especially with freshmen Tyler Bray, Justin Hunter and Da’Rick Rogers.

The North Carolina Tar Heels were trying to take the next step, meanwhile, at 7-5 under fourth-year head coach Butch Davis. Vol fans would fill the stadium in Nashville for this game. In a back and forth matchup, all the bad luck for UT happened late.

With the Vols down 17-14 late in the fourth quarter, Bray hit Hunter in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. However, Daniel Lincoln missed the extra point. As a result, UNC only needed a field goal to tie, meaning when they were stopped on fourth down on the next drive, they wouldn’t have to do much if they got the ball back one more time.

That’s exactly what happened. UNC got the ball with 31 seconds and no timeouts on its own 20-yard line. However, they got into field goal range because of two pass plays that equaled 40 yards and a personal foul penalty. Then the real drama happened.

On a run play down to the Vols 18, the Tar Heels were trying to rush up to spike it. However, they weren’t set, so with four seconds left and the clock running, they spiked it and took the illegal formation penalty. There was no runoff at the time. As a result, they accepted the five-yard penalty and then kicked the game-tying field goal.

After the two teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime, a Bray interception allowed UNC to kick a game-winning field goal in the second. So they won 30-27 thanks to a missed extra point, a personal foul penalty and then abuse of no 10-second runoff all in the final minutes of the fourth. That sent Tennessee football to 6-7 and likely kept them from having a top 10 recruiting class.

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