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Tennessee football’s top 25 single-game performances in history

By Caleb Calhoun

Peyton Manning #16, Quarterback for the University of Tennessee Volunteers during the NCAA Pac 10 college football game against the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA Bruins on 6th September 1997 at the Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California, United States. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 30 - 24. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport/Getty Images)
Peyton Manning #16, Quarterback for the University of Tennessee Volunteers during the NCAA Pac 10 college football game against the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA Bruins on 6th September 1997 at the Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California, United States. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 30 - 24. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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15. Darrell Taylor

2018 vs. No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats

Tennessee Volunteers win 24-7

4 sacks; 1 forced fumble; 7 tackles

Yes, Tennessee football edge rushers seem to have some of their best standout performances with a first-year head coach when facing a Kentucky Wildcats team led by Mark Stoops. Five years after Corey Miller, the Vols were in rebuilding mode again, this time with Jeremy Pruitt at the helm. At 4-5, they got set to face a 7-2 UK team that by far was enjoying its best season under Stoops.

Darrell Taylor had moved to outside linebacker earlier in the year under Pruitt, who had installed his 3-4 scheme this year. He had his breakout game at the Georgia Bulldogs with three sacks and two forced fumbles. However, after a season-ending injury to Jonathan Kongbo, he became the feature edge rusher.

In that position, he proved exactly how well he could shoulder the load against Kentucky. Taylor tortured quarterback Terry Wilson all game. He came away with four sacks and seven tackles. Most notably, Kentucky had cut a 24-0 lead to 24-7 in the second half and forced a fumble. They could get back in the game.

However, Taylor strip-sacked Wilson to get the Vols the ball right back. Four sacks, as we mentioned, automatically makes this list. Doing that against a ranked team and forcing a fumble in the process easily puts this above the other four-sack games we have already mentioned. The Vols couldn’t continue the momentum, as they finished 5-7. But this was an epic performance.

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