Clad in Big Orange: A look back at the Vols' path to 1998 national title
Tennessee will honor its 1998 national championship team on Saturday during the No. 21 Vols' game vs. South Carolina at Neyland Stadium.
It's been 25 years since Tennessee beat Florida State, 23-16 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to claim the inaugural BCS title, but its path to get there was littered with near-misses and moments so tense that even a film couldn't have scripted it.
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On the even of the Vols' celebrating its last championship football team, here is a look at that season and the road to an unbeaten season.
Vols walk-off Syracuse in Carrier Dome
Tennessee's title run was nearly over before it began.
The Vols opened the post-Peyton Manning era at No. 10 in the Associated Press poll and new starting quarterback Tee Martin was tested right out of the gate against No. 17 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome in week 1.
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The Orangemen were led by Donovan McNabb, who put up more than 300 yards on 20-of-28 passing and helped Syracuse to a 33-31 lead with less than three minutes left.
Martin totaled just 146 yards passing but engineered a late drive, helped along by the running of Jamal Lewis, who rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown and a defensive pass interference penalty on fourth-and-7.
A few plays later, Martin completed a downfield pass to Peerless Price and Lewis got inside the 15-yard line on a run to set up Jeff Hall's 27-yard field goal as time experience to preserve a 33-31 win.
'Pandemonium Reigns'
Tennessee's biggest hurdle in its quest for the promised land during the decade of the 1990s was Florida.
Vols' head coach Phillip Fulmer struggled against the Gators, losing five-straight between 1993-97. The game was typically scheduled in week 3 and knocked Tennessee out of SEC championship contention early.
The Vols managed to get to Atlanta despite losing to Florida the year before, but if they had visions of a national title in 1998, beating the Gators was a must.
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Florida entered the game as the No. 2 team nationally and less than two years removed form its own national championship in 1996. Tennessee jumped to No. 6 after beating Syracuse, setting the stage for a prime time clash at Neyland Stadium.
The Vols jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first quarter but Florida evened the score at 10-10 at the half. Tennessee mustered just 235 yards of total offense but turnovers were the difference.
The Vols' defense forced four Gators' turnovers all of which were fumbles. Two were caused by linebacker Al Wilson.
Knotted up at 17-17 at the end of regulation, it went into overtime—a first for both programs. Tennessee struck first with a Hall field goal to go up 20-17 and Florida kicker Collins Cooper failed to answer, sailing his game-tying attempt wide.
Tennessee fans stormed the field, toppled the goal post and the CBS cameras attached and tossed their spoils of victory into the Tennessee River outside.
Vol Network play-by-play announcer John Ward painted the picture from the press box: "The kick is up and the kick this time is no siree! No siree! Final score: Tennessee 20, Florida 17. Pandemonium reigns!"
A scare on the Plains
After two close calls in back-to-back weeks, Tennessee made quick work of Houston, winning 42-7 at home before going back on the road to face Auburn.
The Tigers were 1-3, having lost to Virginia and LSU and the Vols looked dominant early, taking a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.
Tennessee didn't score again.
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Auburn connected on three field goals over the last three quarters to pull within one score then got the ball back in the final minutes, driving inside the Vols' 25-yard line with six seconds left.
Quarterback Gabe Gross' final heave reached the end zone as time expired but was batted away. The Tennessee defense, which was without Wilson, held on and the Vols moved to 4-0 with a 17-9 victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Stumble and fumble
Tennessee had reached the mountain top—at least in the regular season.
Unbeaten with wins over Florida, Alabama and Georgia, the Vols were the No. 1 team in the country ahead of their week 9 bout with Arkansas.
The Razorbacks were No. 10 and an also unblemished, shutting out Ole Miss, 34-0 the week before. For Tennessee, Arkansas was seemingly the last road block left to clear on its schedule.
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Arkansas looked like it was going to play the role of spoiler, putting the Vols' dream season in serious jeopardy with a 21-3 advantage in the first half.
Tennessee chipped away in the third quarter but trailed 24-22. Arkansas was in position to put the game away in the fourth, running clock before quarterback Clint Stoerner tripped over his own offensive lineman and laid the ball on the turf.
Billy Ratliff pounced on it, Tennessee got the ball back and plays later, took the lead for good on Travis Henry's touchdown run in the final seconds to win 28-22.
Late rally lifts Tennessee past Mississippi State
After five-year SEC title hiatus, Tennessee was back in the conference championship game for the second-straight season at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
A win would assuredly send the Vols to the Fiesta Bowl for the BCS National Championship Game, but like the much of the previous 11 games, nothing came easy for Tennessee.
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The Vols found themselves in an all-too familiar spot, trailing 14-10 to Mississippi State in the fourth quarter but Martin provided an all-too familiar ending.
Martin passed for two touchdowns in a 32-second span and Tennessee escaped again, this time with a national championship game-clinching 24-14 win.
'Clad in Big Orange'
Tennessee nearly didn't make it. Four months prior, Florida State certainly didn't look like it was going to be there. Yet both teams were set to square off in the Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium on Jan. 4, 1999.
The Vols escape acts against Syracuse, Florida, Auburn and Arkansas and the Seminoles' turnaround after suffering an early-season loss at NC State pitted the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the BCS standings against each other and for the first time, a win would secure the championship instead of voters.
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The Vols' defense saved one of their most dominating performances for last. Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick was limited to just one catch for 7 yards and Wilson totaled a game-high nine tackles.
Martin linked up with Price four times for 199 yards, but no catch was bigger than his 79-yard touchdown reception that clinched a 23-16 win and Tennessee's first consensus national championship in 48 years.
In his last football radio broadcast for the Vol Network, Ward proclaimed that the national champion was "clad in Big Orange."
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