by design | Sep 8, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
The first 11-win season since 1970 By Tom Mattingly The 1989 Tennessee football season finished 11-1, capped by a 31-27 win over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. That was quite a treat for Vol fans, given that the Vols had compiled a 5-6 record the year before. That...
by design | Sep 2, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘I’m going with the best’ By Tom Mattingly Years after he called his last Tennessee Volunteers football game, Tennessee 41, Vanderbilt 14, on Dec. 2, 1967, George Mooney still remembered the good times. Mooney (Jan. 6, 1920-Oct. 13, 2011) was the lead announcer on the...
by design | Aug 25, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘They’re going to catch you’ By Tom Mattingly The day was Oct. 22, 1977, in the year John Majors came marching home as head football coach at the University of Tennessee. The series grew in intensity in 1969, with a 14-13 Florida win in the Gator Bowl. The...
by design | Aug 18, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘Get a quarterback’ By Tom Mattingly When Tennessee was building a new press box in 1962, Gen. Bob Neyland laid down a challenge to media covering the Vols. “We’re going to build the best press box in the country,” he said. “We hope it will improve the writing...
by design | Aug 11, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
The times they were a-changin’ in college football By Tom Mattingly It’s hard to believe that decisions made in the 1960s by coaches and players could have such far-reaching impacts. There had been a fallow period in Tennessee football from 1958 to 1963, when the...
by design | Aug 4, 2025 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘Why, Tell Me, Why?’ By Tom Mattingly Someone asked why Tennessee fans had always made such a big deal about the football team wearing white jerseys for road games. It was definitely a big deal in those uncertain times in 1971 when the whole white jersey...
