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Ranking Tennessee football’s top 10 wins under Johnny Majors

By Caleb Calhoun

Johnny Majors, Head Coach for the University of Tennessee Volunteers stands with his team during the NCAA Southeastern Conference college football game against the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish on 9 November 1991 at the Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 35 - 34. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images)
Johnny Majors, Head Coach for the University of Tennessee Volunteers stands with his team during the NCAA Southeastern Conference college football game against the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish on 9 November 1991 at the Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 35 - 34. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport
Photo by Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport /

22. 878. 23. 839. Final

10. 1987: Phil Reich kicks game-winner in Kickoff Classic

This was a tough test for Johnny Majors and Tennessee football entering the 1987 season. The Vols were coming off a 7-5 campaign in which they started 2-5 but won out. However, as a preseason top 10 team in 1986 with the assumption that they had finally arrived under Majors with their SEC Championship and top five finish in 1985, that season was a disappointment.

To prove that the team that finished the 1986 season was the one entering 1987, the No. 17 ranked Vols would have to face the No. 16 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Jeff Francis was also returning as UT’s starting quarterback, looking to prove he could win at a high level on Rocky Top.

Darrin Miller had the play of the game, intercepting an option pass at one point and returning it 96 yards the other way for a Vol touchdown. However, running back Reggie Cobb was the star, carrying the ball 25 times for 138 yards. Trailing 22-17, the Vols cut the lead to 22-20, then they got the ball back. In the process, Francis and Cobb drove them back into field goal range.

From the left hash mark, Phil Reich nailed a game-winning field goal with two seconds left to secure a thrilling 23-22 win. UT took that momentum to go 10-2-1 on the year and finish in the top 15, their first 10-win season since 1972 and their second top 15 finish in three years under Majors. This win got them going.

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