All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee footballs previous 7-0 starts hint SEC title is guaranteed

By Caleb Calhoun

4 Jan 1999: the Tennesse Volunteers celebrate during the Fiesta Bowl Game against the Florida State Seminoles at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Tennessee defeated Florida State 23-16. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport
4 Jan 1999: the Tennesse Volunteers celebrate during the Fiesta Bowl Game against the Florida State Seminoles at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Tennessee defeated Florida State 23-16. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport /
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Nov 13, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Power T on the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Power T on the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports /

8. 1932: 9-0-1 (7-0-1)

Southern Conference Champion

A year before SEC play again, Tennessee football’s 7-0 starts were still associated with conference championships. Robert Neyland was in the midst of his first stint, and his single-wing had taken the Southern Conference by firestorm, creating superstar backs to put the Vols on the national map. This year, Beattie Feathers was that star.

Rocky Top roared off to exactly a 7-0 start. Luckily for them, they didn’t have to play the No. 2 through No. 4 teams in the 23-team Souther Conference: Auburn, LSU and the VPI Gobblers (now Virginia Tech Hokies). The fifth best team in the league that year was Vandy, and they are who derailed a perfect season for UT.

Rocky Top played Vandy to a scoreless tie on the road, ending a four-game winning streak they were enjoying against them. At the time, Vanderbilt was the hated rivalry of the Vols, and winning four straight against them was unheard before it happened, but that tie was still brutal.

Luckily for the Vols, Vandy tied the Tulane Green Wave and lost to Alabama, whom the Vols beat. Auburn tied South Carolina and played one less conference game, giving the Vols the edge over them. LSU went perfect in conference play but only played four games. The result was a three-way tie for the SoCon between these schools a year before they all joined the SEC.

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