10. 1955 (Johnny Majors’ role: Player)
6-3-1 (3-2-1)
We start things off with Tennessee football’s first season under Bowden Wyatt. Johnny Majors had been recruited by Robert Neyland, and when he joined the team, he was playing for Neyland’s successor, Harvey Robinson. However, after a 4-6 season in 1954, Neyland fired Robinson and brought in Wyatt, who was an All-American for him on the 1938 national championship team.
Anyway, this was Majors’ breakout year. It was his first season became the main rusher, passer and punter, and he completed 55.5 percent of his passes for 476 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 657 yards and six touchdowns. In the single-wing formation, these are eye-popping stats, and Majors probably could have been an All-American this year.
Despite all that production, though, Wyatt’s season got off to a rocky start. UT started off 0-2, losing to the Mississippi State Maroons (now Bulldogs) and No. 16 ranked Duke Blue Devils, who would go on to win the ACC that year. They rebounded, though, with a win over the Chattanooga Mocs, and then beat the Alabama Crimson Tide, Dayton Flyers and North Carolina Tar Heels.
At 4-2, the highlight of UT’s season was actually a tie against the No. 8 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This was a signature game for Wyatt, and after beating the Florida Gators the next week, it got UT into the top 20. After that, though, they were upset by the Kentucky Wildcats.
Still, UT closed things out with a signature win by upsetting the No. 19 ranked Vanderbilt Commodores 20-14 thanks to two touchdown passes and a game-winning drive from Majors. That ruined Vandy’s bowl hopes and set the stage, a great cap on Wyatt’s first season.