Link: Tennessee Football's 10 Most Heartbreaking Losses, 1989-2007

[BamaBoy3684]

I wish we had more than one on the list.

Tennessee Football's 10 Most Heartbreaking Losses, 1989-2007

2. 1990: Alabama 9 - No. 3 Tennessee 6 (Knoxville)
I didn't think this one would ever be topped. Ranked third and the owners of an unusual 4-0-2 record after tying eventual National Champion Colorado and No. 5 Auburn, the Vols were thinking SEC and National Championship. Alabama, who'd won four straight against Tennessee at this point, was struggling at 2-3 under new head coach Gene Stallings.
If there was ever a year to not just beat Alabama, but crush them, this was it—and you could tell right away it just wasn't going to materialize. Tennessee couldn't move the ball at all, and when they did, they turned it over soon after. Alabama wasn't moving either, but they hung around and hung around. Greg Burke was asked twice early to kick field goals of more than 50 yards, and he hit one of them.
Late in the contest, with the score tied at 6-6 and Vol fans thinking about a possible third tie in seven games, Tennessee finally got good field position when Alabama was forced to punt from their own end zone and Dale Carter returned it to the 35-yard line.
Burke was called on again from 50 yards, and for Vol fans, the worst that could happen at this point was a tie if he missed—except Alabama blocked the kick, and the ball went flying 20 yards downfield, giving the Crimson Tide a shot at their own field goal. Phillip Doyle from 47 yards as time expired completed the stunning heartbreak.

 

[Bamaro]

Glad we could help

 

[BamaFan1961]

What year was it that we were down a couple of scores with about 2:00 min left in the game (may have been less that a minute to go) and we came back and won. I didn't go to the game but a friend of mine did. He said most of the Vol fans were filing out early listening to the games on portable radios when we we scored the go ahead points. He said the Vol fans about filled the Tennessee River with their radios.

 

[bamachile]

I would've thought 1989 would have made their list--we were their only loss that season and cost them the NC.

Smash this for a flashback

I see that we made the list fewer times than UF. Guess we'll have to work on that! :biggrin:

 

[UAinPHILLY]

I wish we had more than one on the list.

I would think we would have had more, since according to ut fans they had the better team every year we beat them during that streak.

 

[bamabryan]

This is one of my favorite all-time Alabama wins. No one outside of this state really gave Alabama much of a chance in the game. When Philip Doyle came out on the field to attempt the winning FG, I knew the game was over.

This was one sweet win.

 

[UAinPHILLY]

This is one of my favorite all-time Alabama wins. No one outside of this state really gave Alabama much of a chance in the game. When Philip Doyle came out on the field to attempt the winning FG, I knew the game was over.

This was one sweet win.

Well, why would they since, according to at least one "expert" we were only a high school team compared to tennessee.

I was in school then and that whole season was a lot of fun (until the last two games )

 

[trenda]

Was it '93 when we snatched a tie out of the jaws of defeat from them by running David Palmer under center for two consecutive plays (TD and 2 pt conversion)?

That continued the unbeaten "streak" and, trust me, might as well have been a loss for them the way it went down. They were plenty heartbroken over that one.

Edit: It was 83 yards in 83 seconds to get the tie. Barker dove in from the one and then Palmer was inserted at QB and ran a sweep for the two point conversion that everyone in the stadium knew was coming. UT still couldn't stop it and save a victory.

 

[bamabryan]

Was it '93 when we snatched a tie out of the jaws of defeat from them by running David Palmer under center for two consecutive plays (TD and 2 pt conversion)?

That continued the unbeaten "streak" and, trust me, might as well have been a loss for them the way it went down. They were plenty heartbroken over that one.

Yes, the '93 game ended in a 17-17 tie.

And I agree with you, the game felt like a loss to me as well. However, a lot of UcheaT fans were sick over this game. They had the game won and overall I felt like they outplayed Alabama in this game.

 

[GrayTide]

What year was it that we were down a couple of scores with about 2:00 min left in the game (may have been less that a minute to go) and we came back and won. I didn't go to the game but a friend of mine did. He said most of the Vol fans were filing out early listening to the games on portable radios when we we scored the go ahead points. He said the Vol fans about filled the Tennessee River with their radios.

I think it was 1973 and we were down 13-3 (I think) and scored two quick TDs and won 17-13. Could have been 17-10. Memory starting to slide. All of these heart breaks could not happen to a more deserving Coach and team.

 

[bamaga]

I would've thought 1989 would have made their list--we were their only loss that season and cost them the NC.

Smash this for a flashback

I see that we made the list fewer times than UF. Guess we'll have to work on that! :biggrin:

thats pure denial on their part, they can't admit the giants just sleeping and not dead!!!!

 

[BamaFan1961]

I think it was 1973 and we were down 13-3 (I think) and scored two quick TDs and won 17-13. Could have been 17-10. Memory starting to slide. All of these heart breaks could not happen to a more deserving Coach and team.

It was during the 70's but I am not sure when. The year you talk about wasn't that the year on Bama's first play from scrimmage Gary Rutledge through a long pass to (If I remember correctly) to a guy named King and Bama never looked back as UT was shell shocked from then on.

 

[BigEasyTider]

The 1989 game, I think, should be on the list. Tennessee had just beaten Auburn and Georgia in the previous two weeks, and had they been able to beat us at Legion Field, they would have finished up 11-0, outright champions of the SEC, and would have played Miami in a #1 v. #2 showdown for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl.

It's hard to argue with that LSU game at the top, though. They beat them earlier in the year, and should have beaten them again, especially while facing a back-up quarterback for much of the contest. A win there would have put them in the Rose Bowl playing Miami for the national title, and though I think the '01 Canes would have castrated them, that's still a huge blow. And to be quite frank, the Tennessee program has been nothing special ever since that upset.

 

[CapstoneStan]

I think it was 1973 and we were down 13-3 (I think) and scored two quick TDs and won 17-13. Could have been 17-10. Memory starting to slide. All of these heart breaks could not happen to a more deserving Coach and team.

It was 1972. I was there and enjoyed the win tremendously.

 

[bamabryan]

It was during the 70's but I am not sure when. The year you talk about wasn't that the year on Bama's first play from scrimmage Gary Rutledge through a long pass to (If I remember correctly) to a guy named King and Bama never looked back as UT was shell shocked from then on.

The TD pass play on the first play from scrimmage was the '73 game. It was an 80 yard TD to Wayne Wheeler.

Alabama won 42-21.

 

[bamabryan]

It's hard to argue with that LSU game at the top, though. They beat them earlier in the year, and should have beaten them again, especially while facing a back-up quarterback for much of the contest. A win there would have put them in the Rose Bowl playing Miami for the national title, and though I think the '01 Canes would have castrated them, that's still a huge blow. And to be quite frank, the Tennessee program has been nothing special ever since that upset.

I agree that you can't argue with the loss to LSU being #1 considering what was at stake for UcheaT.

I saw the thread title and before I clicked on the link I thought the loss to LSU would be #1 and the 9-6 loss to Alabama would be #2.

 

[JTBAMA1]

What year was it that we were down a couple of scores with about 2:00 min left in the game (may have been less that a minute to go) and we came back and won. I didn't go to the game but a friend of mine did. He said most of the Vol fans were filing out early listening to the games on portable radios when we we scored the go ahead points. He said the Vol fans about filled the Tennessee River with their radios.

It could have very well been the '72 game in Knoxville. UT led the whole game and was leading 10-3 late in the game. Bama scored and Pat Dye convinced Coach BRyant to go for one on the extra point to force Tennessee to play catch-up and maybe force a turnover. On Tennessee's next possession, John Mitchell forced a fumble from Condredge Holloway tha Mike DuBose recovered. Terry Davis ran an option to the right down the sideline for the winning score. My Dad was at the game and he overheard a few Vol fans say something to the affect that as long as the game was still being played, "The 'Bear' would find a way to win."

 

[TommyMac]

The TD pass play on the first play from scrimmage was the '73 game. It was an 80 yard TD to Wayne Wheeler.

Alabama won 42-21.

Wheeler ran by the vile DBs like they were running in quicksand. I was on duty at the fire station and one of my buddies was a huge vile fan, he'd been talking trash about the game for a long time. That first play absolutely crushed him, he immediately conceded the game. :biggrin:

Ironically, he had two kids going to Boone HS, Wheeler's alma mater in Orlando.

 

[LCN]

Well, why would they since, according to at least one "expert" we were only a high school team compared to tennessee.

I was in school then and that whole season was a lot of fun (until the last two games )

I'm pretty positive Corso made the HS comparison before the Sugar Bowl in late December of 1992 based on what he had seen back in August at one of our practices . When confronted about his remark , after the Tide had crushed the 'canes , Corso completely lost it during an interview on our show & said ....

"So what ? They beat the s--- out of them , didn't they ? I was wrong !"

Loved it

 

[BigEasyTider]

Just a thought for discussion... what would you say are our most heartbreaking losses over the same period of time?

I'll name a few off of the top of my head, in no particular order...

1989 Auburn: The simple reality was that we had a much better team, and we were right in the middle of the national championship hunt. We should have won with relative ease, and the wind completely went out of the sails. You can call me a homer if you want, but I think we would have a great chance at beating Miami had we won this one. Again, though, the wind had gone out of the sails. If we win this one, I firmly believe that Curry would have returned for 1990.

1994 Florida: Going into the SEC Championship 11-0 and in the thick of the national title race, we had the Gators beat. Tommy Johnson had an easy interception hit him right in the hands on the final drive that would have won it for us, but he dropped it and the Gators won. If he catches that ball, at the very least, we are Sugar Bowl bound.

1995 Arkansas: After needing a miracle the week before to beat Southern Miss, losing to Arkansas (controversial as though it was) really just showed me how much the team had lost from 1994, and how it was going to be a long year (relatively speaking). After Peyton and Tennessee drilled us in Legion Field to end the streak, we were robbed on the Plains, and then had to sit home during the bowl season. We still had a pretty good year, 8-3, but it was pretty a pretty depressing one.

1996 Tennessee: We went into Knoxville undefeated and soundly beat a very good UT team for three quarters before choking late. We still ended up going to Atlanta, but this loss essentially meant any hopes at a national title were over.

2000 UCLA: We all had such high expectations, and you just knew when the clock hit 0:00 that it was going to be a long and disappointing year.

2003 Tennessee: Yes we sucked, but after leading all afternoon we had that game won on so many occasions you needed a calculator to add them all up. We make one play in any of those situations and we win, but we didn't. I don't think it's possible to lose in five overtimes, at home, to arguably your biggest rival and it not be a heartbreaker for the ages.

2005 LSU: By the time LSU came to town, it was pretty obvious -- once you removed the crimson glasses -- that we weren't that good. We had been playing poorly for over a month and you knew it was only a matter of time. Still, we were 9-0, ranked third in the country, and in the heart of the national championship race. Much like 2003 Tennessee, you cannot lose a game like that at home and it not be a heartbreaker, especially in overtime. Making things even worse, we honestly probably deserved to win that game more than we did several other games that we actually did win that year.

2006 Mississippi State: We all had reservations about Shula, but hey, we all wanted to believe. Most knew it was going to be a rebuilding year anyway, and when we came in at 6-3 you had to be relatively happy, but this one changed it all. It wasn't just that we lost... it was that a truly terrible team -- one that would have easily struggled against the better Division 1-AA competition -- came into Bryant-Denny and physically manhandled us in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. We all wanted to believe in Shula, but if you could not figure out that we were royally screwed with him at the helm after this one, you were blind as a bat. After this one, you had to face the harsh truth.