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Tennessee football: Five biggest wins of Jeremy Pruitt era

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt runs off the field after a game between Tennessee and Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. Tennessee defeated Auburn 30-24.Auburntennessee1013 1831 RANK 10
Tennessee Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt runs off the field after a game between Tennessee and Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. Tennessee defeated Auburn 30-24.Auburntennessee1013 1831 RANK 10 /
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]Tennessee linebacker Darrell Taylor (19) and Tennessee linebacker Daniel Bituli (35) take down Kentucky wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. (1) during a game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019Caitieutvuk1109 1047
]Tennessee linebacker Darrell Taylor (19) and Tennessee linebacker Daniel Bituli (35) take down Kentucky wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. (1) during a game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019Caitieutvuk1109 1047 /

Jeremy Pruitt is already becoming a distant memory for Tennessee football, as the Vols are just about to begin a new era with Josh Heupel. With two losing seasons in three years and him being fired while leaving the program under NCAA investigations, there aren’t many good memories he leaves Vol fans with.

However, during his three years, amidst the bad losses and embarrassing blowouts against supposed “rivals,” Pruitt did have some impressive wins. In fact, he did a few things on Rocky Top many coaches hadn’t done in years.

In this post, we’re going to reflect on some of the few positive memories Pruitt did leave Vol fans with. There were some quality victories during his three years, even if the overall product was not good. Let’s break those notable games down. These are Tennessee football’s five biggest wins of the Pruitt era.

13. 833. Final. 17. 839

Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019; Kroger Field; Lexington, Ky.

This was happening down the most fun stretch of the Pruitt era for the Vols. UT had a rough start to the season but was beginning to regroup, and at this point, they were on the verge of getting back to .500 for the first time since the start of the year. All they had to do was beat a favored Kentucky Wildcats team on the road.

Thanks to some early mistakes, UK jumped out to a13-0 lead. It was 13-3 at halftime. However, at halftime, Jarrett Guarantano came in for Brian Maurer, and as he had been doing down the stretch of the year despite a horrendous start, he led the Vols on two second-half touchdown drives.

Late in the game, the Vols got a legendary goal-line stand, as Daniel Bituli had two key tackles on 3rd and goal and 4th and goal. Guarantano then scrambled for a first down on a 3rd and long, and Tennessee football clinched a win on the road. This was UK’s only loss in its final six games of the year, so the Vols’ win was impressive.

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