By Tom Mattingly
The season-opening game against Furman Sept. 5 is not too far away. Over the years, season openers have always been anxiously awaited.
Here are 10 opening games that have had a great impact on the Vol program. In these games, the Vols have won six, lost two, and there have been two ties.
Sept. 28, 1946, Knoxville, Tenn., Shields-Watkins Field, Tennessee 13, Georgia Tech 9. This game marked Gen. Neyland’s first game back on the Tennessee sideline after his service in World War II. A sun-soaked crowd estimated by local newspapers at 30,000-35,000 was present to welcome Neyland back to the East side of the field. “It will take us five years to put Tennessee back on top,” Neyland had said before the season. This game matched Neyland against star pupil Bobby Dodd, who had become Tech’s head coach a year earlier. Tennessee won 13-9, on the way to a 9-1 record that gave the Vols a share of the SEC title and an invitation to play Rice in the Orange Bowl.
Sept. 29, 1956, Birmingham, Ala., Legion Field, Tennessee 35, Auburn 7. It was Bowden Wyatt’s second year as Vols head coach. The Vols dominated the game from start to finish, led by the passing and running of tailback John Majors and the receiving of Buddy Cruze, both of whom earned All-American honors. The Vols had turned down a bowl invitation a year earlier, given that Auburn was slated to be the opponent. The Vols would kick off the 1956 season against the Tigers, and Wyatt did not want to give Auburn an advance look at the single-wing. It was an impressive start to a 10-0 season, an SEC title, and eventual No. 2 national ranking.
Sept. 29, 1959, Knoxville, Shields-Watkins Field, Tennessee 3, Auburn 0. In one of two major upsets that season, Cotton Letner kicked a 20-yard field goal, and Vol defenders made it stand up the rest of the way. In November, the Vols knocked off LSU 14-13. The Vols were 5-1-1 after the LSU triumph, but finished 5-4-1.
Sept. 18, 1965, Knoxville, Neyland Stadium, Tennessee 21, Army 0. In the season opener of an exciting season, Vol defenders pitched a shutout and showed that the rebuilding process under head coach Doug Dickey was definitely headed in the right direction. Charley Fulton led the way at quarterback, and the play of a host of sophomores gave fans confidence that good times were ahead. The Vols finished 8-1-2 and defeated Tulsa in the Bluebonnet Bowl, 27-6, capping a season that was filled with equal doses of triumph and heartache.
Sept. 16, 1967, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, UCLA 20, Tennessee 16. The Vols lost 20-16, but recoiled to win the next 9 games and played Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, losing 26-24. The Vols were ahead of UCLA 13-3 at one juncture, but Bruin quarterback Gary Beban led the comeback and scored the winning touchdown late in the game. The Vols would, however, win the SEC title and become one of the beloved teams in Tennessee football history.
Sept. 14, 1968, Knoxville, Neyland Stadium, Tennessee 17, Georgia 17 (ABC). Trailing 17-9 with precious little time left, quarterback Bubba Wyche led a had-to-have-it drive that resulted in a touchdown pass to wideout Gary Kreis and a two-point conversion toss to Ken DeLong occurring after time had run out. The game marked the debut of Lester McClain, the first African-American player in Vol history. John Ward and Bill Anderson made their debuts on the Vol Network, serving through the 1998 campaign.
Sept. 21, 1980, Knoxville, Neyland Stadium, Georgia 16, Tennessee 15. This game marked the collegiate debut of the Bulldogs’ talented Herschel Walker, who led the Bulldogs to an SEC and national championship. The Vols battled intently all night, but a safety off a fumbled Georgia punt turned the game around.
Sept. 1, 1985, Knoxville, Neyland Stadium, Tennessee 26, UCLA 26 (ABC). The Vols squandered a 26-10 lead, allowing UCLA to gain the deadlock, but things were better from that point on as the Vols knocked off No. 1 Auburn, defeated Alabama, and won the SEC. The 35-7 win over Miami in the Sugar Bowl ranks as one of the great and most memorable victories in Tennessee football history.
Sept. 10, 1977, Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, California 27, Tennessee 17. Majors came marching home this night in his first game as Tennessee head coach. Vol fans responded with a loud ovation when the Vols came running through the “T” pre-game and were even louder when quarterback Jimmy Streater had an 80-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that had Vol Network analyst Bill Anderson cheering on his every step into a live microphone.
Sept. 5, 1998, The Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y., Tennessee 34, Syracuse 33 (ABC). Jeff Hall kicked the game-winning field goal to lead the Vols to a narrow win that set the stage for a national championship season that was characterized by comeback win after comeback win. Tee Martin made his debut under center and led a courageous drive, making big play after big play, as the Vols marched confidently to Hall’s game-winning field goal.
What do we make of all this? There were no directional schools on this list, nor were there FCS schools to help pad the record. Seven of these games led to Tennessee bowl games. The winners of the 1980 Georgia and 1998 Syracuse games won national titles. There were five SEC titles mixed in from these games, 4 for the Vols and 1 for Georgia.
These games should each be considered “classics,” going well into the fourth quarter before a winner was decided.
