Tennessee football’s 10 most unlucky losses of all time
839. 21. 858. Final. 17
7. 1996: Kevin Cobb scores after seemingly going down on return
It’s the one ugly loss for Tennessee football from 1995 to 1998, and it remains their only loss to the Memphis Tigers. Everything about it comes down to one play that never should have been ruled a touchdown.
The Vols, for context, were on track to repeat what they did in 1995: Go 11-1 with their only loss being to the Florida Gators. When this game kicked off, they were No. 6 in the nation and two weeks removed from a huge win over the Alabama Crimson Tide, who were No. 7 and undefeated at the time.
Memphis, meanwhile, was 3-6 and on a four-game losing streak under second-year coach Rip Scherer. So the Vols were not about to take them seriously. They had never lost in the series, as we mentioned, after all.
Well, by not taking them seriously, Peyton Manning and the offense played a horrendous game. The two teams went into halftime tied at 7, largely because of a Memphis interception that made for a 14-point swing. Manning found Jay Graham in the third quarter to make it 14-7. At that point, it seemed clear that the Vols would take control. However, the opposite happened.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kevin Cobb took the return and did a 360 of a hit where his elbow and thigh hit the ground. He appeared to be down, so everybody stopped. However, the whistle was never blown, so he got up and ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. All of a sudden, because of that one fluke play, the score was tied at 14 in the third.
Manning and co. could only muster a field goal after that. Memphis, late in the fourth, mounted a game-winning drive, and Qadry Anderson capped it off with a touchdown pass to Chris Powers. As a result, the Tigers pulled off a shocker, winning 21-17.
It remains one of the biggest upset losses in Tennessee football history, and it all came down to that play where Cobb should have been ruled down. That play would win an ESPY later in the year, and it was unlikely and lucky enough on its own for this game to make the list.