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re: Tennessee needed help from the refs and got lucky in 1998.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:32 am to VFL67
Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:32 am to VFL67
quote:
Tennessee won 4 top 10 match-ups that year
Tennessee beat two teams that finished in the top ten, one of whom was without their star QB who went on to win the Heisman Trophy.
This post was edited on 7/28/26 at 9:33 am
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Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:36 am to RollTide1987
quote:
I think we can all agree that 1998 Tennessee was one of the weakest national champions in modern college football history.
They got Florida State's third string quarterback in the national championship game – a guy who ran the option in high school and was named the Red Rooster.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:38 am to Serraneaux
quote:
Don't waste your time justifying facts with inbreds.
I don't understand Bama fans talking about weak, easy, or luck lol. No program has been more protected than them. Hence why Bear was given extra easy SEC games so he could win the conference. Hell, look at the list I posted, 3 Bear teams, 1 Stallings team, and 2 Saban teams were given easier routes to a natty than a Tennessee team the gumps have labeled as "weak."
Extra SEC games, larger rosters, early-season Sugar Bowl invites, Langham's illegal playing, Albert Means, textbooks for free, dodge chargers, and free player housing (Tua). Bama is the definition of dirty and has benefited from a bad system more than anyone
Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:43 am to VFL67
quote:
No program has been more protected than them. Hence why Bear was given extra easy SEC games so he could win the conference.
Uhh, more than 1/3 of Tennessee's SEC games they've ever played have been against teams with all-time losing records.
VOLS have played UK and Vandy a combined 238 times. No one else even comes close.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:52 am to Uga Alum
quote:
Tennessee got extremely lucky that FSU’s starting QB was out
I guess Bama was lucky to beat Texas in the natty.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:52 am to Tornado Alley
Tennessee historically had one of the hardest schedules ever.
Alabama
Played Bama every year of the Bear Bryant era
Played Bama every year of the Frank Thomas era
Played Bama every year of the Nick Saban era
Played Bama every year of the Gene Stallings era
Auburn
Played Auburn every year of the Pat Dye era
Played Auburn every year of the Shug Jordan era
Florida
Played Florida every year of the Steve Spurrier era
Played Florida every year of the Urban Meyer era
Georgia
Played UGA every year of Kirby Smart's era
Played UGA every year of the Mark Rhict era
Kentucky
Played UK every year of the Bear Bryant era
Played UK every year of the Mark Stoops era
Vandy
Played Vandy every year of the Dan McGugin era
Ole Miss
Played Ole Miss every year of the Johnny Vaught era
South Carolina
Played Carolina every year of the Steve Spurrier era
The only major SEC coach we dodged playing consistently was Vince Dooley. We have historically played the best coach at every SEC school every year. No school has had harder schedules
Alabama
Played Bama every year of the Bear Bryant era
Played Bama every year of the Frank Thomas era
Played Bama every year of the Nick Saban era
Played Bama every year of the Gene Stallings era
Auburn
Played Auburn every year of the Pat Dye era
Played Auburn every year of the Shug Jordan era
Florida
Played Florida every year of the Steve Spurrier era
Played Florida every year of the Urban Meyer era
Georgia
Played UGA every year of Kirby Smart's era
Played UGA every year of the Mark Rhict era
Kentucky
Played UK every year of the Bear Bryant era
Played UK every year of the Mark Stoops era
Vandy
Played Vandy every year of the Dan McGugin era
Ole Miss
Played Ole Miss every year of the Johnny Vaught era
South Carolina
Played Carolina every year of the Steve Spurrier era
The only major SEC coach we dodged playing consistently was Vince Dooley. We have historically played the best coach at every SEC school every year. No school has had harder schedules
This post was edited on 7/28/26 at 9:57 am
Posted on 7/28/26 at 9:57 am to VFL67
quote:
Vandy
Played Vandy every year of the Dan McGugin era
Stop this nonsense right now.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 10:00 am to AUFANATL
quote:
Stop this nonsense right now.
The point is, we have faced the best coach from every original SEC team each year. The only school we didn't face consistently was LSU. Not even Auburn has been that unlucky with its scheduling
This post was edited on 7/28/26 at 10:01 am
Posted on 7/28/26 at 10:28 am to SneezyBeltranIsHere
quote:
I guess Bama was lucky to beat Texas in the natty.
No doubt. But let's put some clarification on this.
Bama TOOK UT's QB out. FSU's QB never played and was never going to. This fact was well known going into the 1998 BCSNCG.
Also, Bama won a boatload of titles after that Rose Bowl against the Horns, so it's hard to call them lucky.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 10:37 am to Serraneaux
Ah yes, the Tennessee glory days from nearly 30 years ago. What memories….
Posted on 7/28/26 at 10:47 am to Uga Alum
quote:
After winning that game when they shouldn’t have, Tennessee got extremely lucky that FSU’s starting QB was out for the natty
Yeah, Chris Weinke and is 50% completion rate in 1998. He was an absolute monster!!!! Oh by the way, if FSU gets Chris Weinke back, does Tennessee get Jamal Lewis back? I think missing one of the top 3-4 running backs in the country for 75% of the year probably hurt Tennessee’s offense a bit.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 10:54 am to Night Vision
quote:
Roid Krammit pulled many strings for 10rc.
Like the ‘98 Arky game when the officials screwed Tennessee late in the fourth quarter? Arkansas punter Chris Akin kicked the ball out of the end zone from the field of play. UT was supposed to get the ball around the 10-yard line, not a safety (the SEC office admitted it the next day). A TD there negates the whole Stoerner fumble fiasco.
This post was edited on 7/28/26 at 11:29 am
Posted on 7/28/26 at 11:09 am to mckibaj
quote:
MSU’s offense didn’t even score. 2 TDs off an Interception and Punt Return for MSU.
State had the # 1 defense in the Nation that year. You don't need an elite offense when you have a the nation's best defense. we beat many teams doing the exact same thing.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 11:12 am to Uga Alum
quote:
Tennessee played Mississippi State (yes, that Mississippi State) in the SEC championship in 1998. State was winning well into the second half
Tennessee was up 10-7 at halftime. State scored with 8:43 left in the game to go up 14-10. Tennessee scored with 6:15 left to go up 17-14, then scored again with 5:47 left to finish it 24-14.
quote:
and should’ve won the game if not for biased calls from the referees that were instructed to make said calls from the then SEC commissioner Roy Kramer so that an SEC team could be in the natty.
Remember that Mississippi State's score in the first half was a 70 yard pick 6 and their other touchdown was an 84 yard Punt Return. Tennessee held MSU to 149 total yards on offense and 0 touchdowns. MSU almost had as many yards with the 1 interception as they had in total receiving yards. But...ok...it was the refs.
quote:
After winning that game when they shouldn’t have, Tennessee got extremely lucky that FSU’s starting QB was out for the natty. They would’ve lost if he was healthy.
Tennessee was so lucky that they lost Jamal Lewis as their leading running back against Auburn earlier in the season. He was averaging a horrible 6.8 yards per carry and only had 140 yards against Auburn when he was lost for the season against them.
Georgia should have had a shot against Tennessee that year. They were the next opponent after Lewis went down late against the Barn. With the backup RBs in there, Tennessee only managed 210 yards on the ground, while Georgia rolled up a staggering 59 rushing yards. The Dawgs did have 195 passing yards with only 3 ints. I guess Tennessee just had some home cooking going on with the refs, (even though it was played in Athens). Georgia was having a down year and were only ranked #7 when the vols came in and beat them like a rented mule. Everyone knows it was the refs that cost UGA that game in Athens vs UT, just like they did to MSU in the SEC CG.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 11:27 am to WG_Dawg
quote:
But stoerner fumbling the ball for no reason at all with less than 2 minutes to go in the game wiht a lead is beyond "luck" and borders on something else otherworldly. And as mentioned they got another gift handed to them facing a weakened FSU in the title game following a MSU team that ended with 5 losses.
The "Stoerner Fumble" shouldn't have even happened. The series before that, Arkansas was up 24-20 when they snapped the ball over the punter's head where he kicked it through the endzone and Tennessee was given a safety and 2 points. The NCAA rule is (and was at the time) 15 yards and loss of the down from the spot of the foul. So, Tennessee should have gotten the ball on the Arkansas 25 yard line, down 4 points with a little over 2 minutes to drive the ball 25 yards. Remember that, after the fumble...Travis Henry ran consecutive carries of 15, 15 and 11 yards...followed by a 1 yard TD. So...that's more than 25...and would have resulted in UT being up 27-24 with about 1 minute left in the game...and Tennessee had outscored Arkansas 17-3 in the Second half before the punt attempt.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 11:30 am to Tornado Alley
quote:
Tennessee beat two teams that finished in the top ten, one of whom was without their star QB who went on to win the Heisman Trophy.
They beat all 13 teams on their schedule.
Posted on 7/28/26 at 11:36 am to madmaxvol
Wasn’t FSU playing their 3rd string QB?
Posted on 7/28/26 at 11:37 am to GentleJackJones
quote:
Wasn’t FSU playing their 3rd string QB?
And Tennessee was missing its star all-conference RB
Posted on 7/28/26 at 11:37 am to Uga Alum
You, sir, are full of crap. Tennessee outgained MSU 359-149, outrushed 151-65, outpassed 208-84. The only thing that had MSU briefly ahead was a long punt return, and Tennessee took the lead back on the next possession. Does that sound like the refs needed to intervene? It really gets tiresome with so many fools trying to diminish Tennessee's great season. Do we dwell on Georgia's lucky recent titles?
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