Tennessee football: Looking back on Vols’ five bowl games played in-state

3. 1986 Liberty Bowl

While 1974 was the end of the Doug Dickey/Bill Battle run, 1986 was a year after the precursor to the Johnny Majors/Phillip Fulmer run. In 1985, UT went 9-1-2, won the SEC for the first time since 1969 and finished No. 4 in both polls. That season was highlight by a 35-7 Sugar Bowl upset over the Miami Hurricanes, who would’ve won the national title had they beaten UT.

Entering 1986, Majors’ team was ranked No. 10, but they lost a ton of talent, most notably both quarterbacks, and Jeff Francis took over. Upset losses to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Army Black Knights and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were part of a 2-5 start as they became unranked.

With an easier schedule to close out the year, the Vols regrouped and won their final four, highlighted by an upset win at the No. 20 ranked Ole Miss Rebels. They would face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Liberty Bowl, who went 6-5 under first-year head coach John Gutekunst.

UT jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but Minnesota hit two field goals and a touchdown to tie it at 14 in the fourth. Then Francis led a 66-yard drive that ended with his third touchdown pass of the game, his second to Joey Clinkscales, to clinch a 21-14 win and a winning record. The Vols finished 7-5, and it is the last Liberty Bowl they appeared in.