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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 Doug Pensinger/AllSport
Photo by Doug Pensinger/AllSport /

18. Preston Warren

1988 vs. Boston College Eagles

Tennessee Volunteers win 10-7

3 interceptions; 1 touchdown

We all know just how bad the 1988 season was. After winning the SEC finally in 1985, disappointing with a bad start in 1986 but finishing strong ay 7-5 and then going 10-2-1 in 1986, it appeared Tennessee football had finally arrived under Johnny Majors. However, youth, a litany of injuries and a brutal schedule brought the Vols back to reality in 1988.

Rocky Top’s first six games were all against teams who would reach bowl games, and five were against teams who would finish in the top 25. They started 0-6. Finally, a win over the Memphis State Tigers got them to 1-6, but they were looking to prove they had truly turned a corner. That’s where Preston Warren’s performance in this game comes into play.

The Boston College Eagles came to town in a battle of bad teams. They had upset the Vols a year before. In what became one of the most hideous games of all time, Warren became the star. After a scoreless first quarter, Warren intercepted a pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown to give UT a 7-0 lead.

BC tied it up later in the quarter, but Warren kept picking off passes to shut down drives, and the Vols kicked a game-winner in the fourth. Warren’s three picks and a touchdown were clearly the difference in a 10-7 win, and this sparked the momentum Majors’ team needed to finish 5-6 after a horrible start.

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