All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football’s top 10 upset wins one week after bad loss

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee players Jalen Hurd, left, Alvin Kamara, and Joshua Dobbs celebrate following the Vols' 38-31 win over Georgia Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, at Neyland Stadium. Utvsugathroughtheyears28
Tennessee players Jalen Hurd, left, Alvin Kamara, and Joshua Dobbs celebrate following the Vols' 38-31 win over Georgia Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, at Neyland Stadium. Utvsugathroughtheyears28 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 12
Next
Tennessee freshman quarterback Peyton Manning (16), making his first start, is pressured by Washington State defender Chad Eaton (90). Manning completed 7 of 14 passes for 79 yards in leading the Vols to a 10-9 victory over No. 17-ranked Washington State before a homecoming crowd of 95,556 at Neyland Stadium in October 1994.94then10 003
Tennessee freshman quarterback Peyton Manning (16), making his first start, is pressured by Washington State defender Chad Eaton (90). Manning completed 7 of 14 passes for 79 yards in leading the Vols to a 10-9 victory over No. 17-ranked Washington State before a homecoming crowd of 95,556 at Neyland Stadium in October 1994.94then10 003 /

5. 1994: Upset No. 17 ranked Washington State Cougars 10-9

Previous week: Lost to Mississippi State Bulldogs 24-21

Peyton Manning’s first start made the list. Tennessee football had a chaotic start to the 1994 season. Phillip Fulmer’s first recruiting class joined a team that would be led by new quarterback Jerry Colquitt, a fifth-year senior. However, Colquitt suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter of the opener at the No. 14 UCLA Bruins.

Todd Helton came in as UT lost 25-23. He started the next three games with Manning and Branndon Stewart seeing action, as the Vols beat the Georgia Bulldogs and lost to the Florida Gators. Against Mississippi State, however, Helton suffered a season-ending injury too.

Enter Manning, who played well at MSU, but with No. 23 ranked UT up 21-14 late, unranked MSU came back to pull off a shocking 24-21 win. All of a sudden, Fulmer’s team was 1-3, unranked on its own and had to turn to a freshman quarterback unexpectedly.

Coming to town was the No. 17 ranked Washington State Cougars, who had the No. 1 defense in the nation. This wasn’t the game to break in a freshman. Well, the Vols’ defense stepped up, holding WSU to nine points. Trailing 6-0 in the third, Nilo Silvan took a reverse 62 yards for the score to give the Vols a 7-6 lead.

WSU then went up 9-7, but Manning drove to the 10 early in the fourth quarter to set up a 27-yard field goal, which John Becksvoort nailed to give the Vols a 10-9 lead. UT then held on for the upset win and turned the season around, going from 1-3 to 8-4 and setting the stage for its epic run of the mid-1990s.

Home/Vols Football