By Tom Mattingly
One of the greatest comebacks in college football history earned Tennessee a victory at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., on Nov. 2, 1991, 35 years ago. The players from that game are now in their mid-to-late 50s. The passage of time can’t dim the memories engendered that afternoon.
Here’s how the Vols lined up. On offense, it was Mark Adams at tight end, Bernard Dafney, Tom Myslinski, John Fisher, Mike Stowell, and Patrick Lenoir up front. Carl Pickens and Craig Faulkner were the wideouts. Mario Brunson was the fullback, James (Little Man) Stewart the running back, and Andy Kelly under center.
Defensively, it was Chris Mims and Chuck Smith at the ends, Shazzon Bradley and J. J. Surlas at the tackles, Darryl Hardy, Shon Walker, and Earnest Fields at linebacker, and Jeremy Lincoln, Floyd Miley, David Bennett, and Dale Carter in the secondary. John Becksvoort was the placekicker, and Tom Hutton the punter.
The triumph seemed inconceivable late in the first half with the Fighting Irish leading 31-7 and poised to add to the margin with a chip shot field goal attempt. The Irish had kicked the Vols all over the field in the first 30 minutes, and prospects for the second half didn’t look very good at all.
At this point, Gen. Neyland’s Maxim No. 6 came into play: “Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.” Historically, the Vols have made a living off dominating the kicking game on both sides of the ball. That would prove to be the case on this day.
Hardy blocked the kick. Miley emerged from the pile and found his way down the field, 85 yards for a touchdown with 14 seconds left in the half. That cut the margin to 31-14 and gave the Vols hope that the second half might be better.
Things did get better for the Vols. Tight end Von Reeves caught a TD pass from Kelly. Hayden scored on a short run. Carter had an interception, giving the Vols the ball at the Irish 45. The clock showed 5:09 left.
From the Irish 26, Kelly’s screen pass to Hayden covered the requisite distance (“the perfect call,” said John Ward) and resulted in another Vol touchdown late in the fourth quarter. To nearly everybody’s surprise, the Vols had taken the lead, but had to fight off a furious Notre Dame rally to secure the victory.
As the clock wound down, Notre Dame moved smartly down the field. Tennessee was in desperate need of a big play. Notre Dame ended up needing a field goal from 26 yards to pull out the triumph they had let slip away earlier.
The stage was set for rookie placekicker Rob Leonard, a sophomore who had never even attempted a field goal in college, to etch his name into Irish immortality. Regular placekicker Craig Hentrich had been injured earlier in the contest. Regardless, this was the type of game Notre Dame always seemed to win, especially in South Bend.
Jeremy Lincoln blocked the kick, coming from the left side of the Irish offense. The kick hit Lincoln’s backside and skittered wide right. Joy reigned supreme for Vol fans across the historic stadium, those watching on NBC television, or within the sound of Ward’s voice on the Vol Network.
Ward took note of Vol fans celebrating at the legendary venue. His concluding remarks likely caught the attention of those fans who might have left at halftime and were listening to the game on some Mutual Network station as they motored down I-65 toward Louisville. They might have been bickering about whose idea it was to leave early, but were still happy with the final score.
“Tennessee beats Notre Dame 35-34,” said Ward. “The Volunteers go home victorious. Notre Dame goes with the sophomore replacement kicker. It is no good, off to the right. The coaching staff to our left is jubilant, as are Tennessee fans. You could not write this script.”
That comment came moments after Ward had declared the kick good and sent shock waves all across Big Orange Country. He recovered quickly, and his post-game remarks were vintage.
Head coach John Majors was asked later if this were the biggest win in Tennessee football history.
“I certainly wouldn’t disagree with that assessment,” said Majors. “There’s never been a bigger one in my opinion. The Sugar Bowl win over Miami was awfully big, but for the time and place, there’s never been a bigger one than the one at South Bend. There was great exposure and media coverage. I understand that 20 million people in Europe saw it.”
Carter and Pickens were All-American selections. Hayden and fellow freshman running back Stewart gave promise of big things to come in their Vol careers.
Nine Vols were named All-SEC, Mark Adams, Carter, Fields, Hardy, Lincoln, Mims, Myslinski, Pickens, and Smith.
Stewart, Hayden, and Becksvoort were named to the SEC All-Freshman squad.
The 1991 final record was 9-3, 5-2 in the SEC. The Vols won at Louisville (28-11), against UCLA (30-16), defeated Auburn (30-27), lost at Florida (35-18) and at Alabama (24-19), defeated Memphis State on Homecoming (52-24), and won their final three games, against Ole Miss (36-24), at Kentucky (16-7), and Vanderbilt (45-0). The season concluded with a 42-17 loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.
