8. 1979: Johnny Majors gets first win over ranked team
There were numerous inconsistencies with the 1979 Tennessee football team, but highlighting that was one of the great early wins of the Johnny Majors era. Majors struggled upon initially taking over the Vols, going 4-7 in 1977 and then 5-5-1 in 1978. However, with Jimmy Streater entering his senior season, expectations were higher in 1979.
Here was the problem with the Vols to this point: They were 4-0 when playing as an unranked team and 0-3 while playing as a ranked team, including a horrendous 13-7 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights the week before. Luckily for the Vols, they dropped out of the polls heading into this game. Notre Dame was 6-2 and ranked No. 13 in the nation.
Well, UT decided to play a little power football in this one. Fullback Hubert Simpson ran for 117 yards and scored four touchdowns. He led Rocky Top to a dominant performances as they shocked Dan Devine’s team 40-18. This was a game nobody saw coming, and it was a signature win early for Majors as he still tried to build the program.
Of course, the Vols got back into rankings the next week, which meant they would lose 44-20 to a bad Ole Miss Rebels team on the road. But they still managed to finish 7-4 and reach their first bowl under Majors, and this blowout win over Notre Dame had a huge hand in making sure that would happen. As a result, it makes the list.