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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 Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images /

842. 21. 839. Final. 14

7. 1989: Historic day from Reggie Cobb gives UT top five upset win.

We just talked about the 1979 win being Tennessee football’s first signature victory under Johnny Majors. This win, however, was the one that established the Vols as a national power and kept them there for 16 years. Yes, everything about the epic run of the 1990s can be traced back to this incredible win back in 1989.

The Vols had started 1988 0-6, and Majors’ seat was hotter than ever. He won five straight to finish 5-6, though, and he started this year with huge wins over the Colorado State Rams, at the No. 6 UCLA Bruins and the eventual ACC Champion Duke Blue Devils, led by Steve Spurrier. At 3-0, though, they were ranked No. 12 and set to host the No. 4 ranked Auburn Tigers.

Since UCLA would later collapse, this would be their first real test. The Vols aced it. Reggie Cobb was the star with 225 yards in the game, and he rushed for a 79-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Chuck Webb did his part, adding 129 yards, so the two ran for 354 yards on a program under Pat Dye known for shutting down the run.

UT had a 14-11 lead late thanks to two safeties and Cobb’s touchdown run. Auburn had the ball, though, and was threatening. Shazzon Bradley saved the Vols with an interception, though, and Webb sealed the deal with a touchdown run of his own.

Rocky Top would hold on for a 21-14 win, which got them to the top 10. They would later split the SEC Championship with Auburn and the Alabama Crimson Tide, finishing 11-1 and in the top five. But their emergence is traced to this game.

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