10. Tee Martin: 1998
Tennessee beats Syracuse 34-33
In his two years as Tennessee football’s starting quarterback, Tee Martin had plenty of clutch moments. He threw two fourth quarter touchdowns in the SEC Championship against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and had two touchdown passes in the national championship game against the Florida State Seminoles. That SEC title game almost made this list.
However, we went with his first ever start. Martin was having to replace the greatest quarterback to ever play for UT, Peyton Manning, and he was leading the No. 10 ranked Vols on the road in their 1998 season-opener to face No. 17 ranked and eventual Big East Champion Syracuse, who was led by a future NFL star in Donovan McNabb.
In a Martin vs. McNabb battle, McNabb had the advantage. Martin himself was mediocre, going 9-of-26 for just 143 yards. However, he threw two touchdown passes to Peerless Price, and one of them came in the fourth quarter to give the Vols a 31-27 lead. On that drive, he also had a key 55 yard run on 3rd and 10 from his own 20 yard line.
That 55-yard run was part of the 80 yards he gained on the ground that day to prove he was out of Manning’s shadow. Then, trailing 33-31, he led a drive late to set up a game-winning field goal for a 34-33 win. So in his first ever start in a very difficult environment, Martin struggled, but he came through huge when it mattered. This is what set off the national championship season.