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Tennessee football: 10 years Vols beat Alabama but not Kentucky

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 11: Detailed view of the checkered endzone at Neyland Stadium during a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Chattanooga Mocs on October 11, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 45-10. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 11: Detailed view of the checkered endzone at Neyland Stadium during a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Chattanooga Mocs on October 11, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 45-10. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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This Johnny Majors signed jersey is part of a new exhibit at the Museum of East Tennessee History showing some of the items the museum has collected in its 25 years on Gay Street.Kns Pastmuseum 0916
This Johnny Majors signed jersey is part of a new exhibit at the Museum of East Tennessee History showing some of the items the museum has collected in its 25 years on Gay Street.Kns Pastmuseum 0916 /

6. 1955

Tennessee: 20 Alabama: 0

After two years of Harvey Robinson, athletic director Robert Neyland fired his own handpicked successor and replaced him with one of his former players, Bowden Wyatt, who had just won the Southwest Conference with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Wyatt had a star in Johnny Majors.

That combination spurred a bit of a rebound in 1955, but it wasn’t immediate. UT started 0-2. However, they beat Chattanooga and got to face an Alabama Crimson Tide team that was in the midst of a winless season. The Vols dominated, winning 20-0 to get back on track.

Kentucky: 23 Tennessee: 0

Beating Alabama was part of a six-game unbeaten streak for UT, including an upset tie against the No. 8 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It was also part of a four-game winning streak, proving Wyatt was building something. This also got them into the top 25 at No. 17.

However, the Kentucky Wildcats still had some talent thanks to what Bear Bryant left them, and at 5-3-1 and with more experience, they dominated Rocky Top in Lexington, shutting them out 23-0. That was UK’s final game, as they finished the year 6-3-1.

Result of the season

Coming off the Kentucky loss, Tennessee football shocked the No. 19 ranked Vanderbilt Commodores to finish 6-3-1 on the year. That set the stage for a legendary 1956 campaign in which they went 10-0 in the regular season, won the SEC and saw Majors become the Heisman Trophy runner-up. This odd year set the stage for that.

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