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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 /
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Tennessee football is one of the top 10 college teams of the 1930s and 40s under coach Robert Neyland, right, at the College Football Hall of Fame.1strangeneylandhof
Tennessee football is one of the top 10 college teams of the 1930s and 40s under coach Robert Neyland, right, at the College Football Hall of Fame.1strangeneylandhof /

4. 1950 Upset No. 14 Duke Blue Devils 28-7

Previous week: Lost to Mississippi State Maroons 7-0

Very few losses proved as consequential for Tennessee football as their 1950 loss to Mississippi State. Robert Neyland, after .500 seasons in 1947 and 1948, had a turnaround 7-2-1 and top 20 finish in 1949, proving he still had it.

When 1950 came along, a collection of stars from Doug Atkins, Hank Lauricella, Ted Daffer, Bud Sherrod, Bill Pearman, John Michels and Bert Rechichar made for high expectations, and this team started off at No. 4.

However, in the second week of the season, with a 1-0 record, Mississippi State shocked Neyland’s team in Starkville 7-0. The Maroons, 2-0 at the time, would finish 4-5, proving they had no business winning that game.

UT fell out of the rankings the next week and traveled to Durham to take on the No. 14 ranked Duke Blue Devils, who were 2-0. Against Wallace Wade, the Vols unleashed their anger from that loss, winning 28-7. This was a huge upset and proved UT truly was elite.

That upset started a 20-game winning streak for the Vols, as they won out in 1950, capturing a share of the national title, and went 10-0 in the regular season of 1951, being named consensus national champions. It was the final dynasty of the Neyland era.

By losing to MSU, though, UT couldn’t capture a share of the national championship pre-bowl games, and it allowed Kentucky to walk away with the SEC title despite losing to the Vols in Knoxville. This is what made that game so costly.

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