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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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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

21. Peyton Manning (Citrus Bowl)

1997 vs. No. 11 Northwestern Wildcats (1996 season)

No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers win 48-28

27-of-39 for 408 yards; 5 total touchdowns

It was a bit of a letdown season for Tennessee football. After going 11-1 in 1995 with a Citrus Bowl win and only losing to the Florida Gators, the Vols entered 1996 ranked No. 2 and expecting to break through for the SEC and national championship as Peyton Manning became a junior. However, they lost to Florida again, and this time, they were upset by the Memphis Tigers.

So the team took a step back, falling to 9-2, and it then had to go back to the Citrus Bowl and face the Northwestern Wildcats. Well, to his credit, Manning wasn’t about to let the team lose its motivation to play. He certainly didn’t, and in the process of doing so, he had arguably the greatest bowl game ever by a quarterback.

Manning set the bowl record at the time with his 408 passing yards. He made sure that he and senior wide receiver Joey Kent, his favorite target for three years, had a memorable last game together, and in the process, he also threw for four touchdowns. Most notably, Manning scored on one of his bootlegs that became so famous.

The result was a dominant win, and the lasting memory was more important. Manning talked later about walking off the field that day and not wanting that fun to end, and that’s why he returned for his senior season, where he had a legendary year.

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