2. 2015 Georgia
Speaking of wins over ranked opponents, how about Tennessee’s win over Georgia in 2015?
The debut of the Nike Smokey Grey uniforms went down as a win when the Vols mounted a comeback and defeated No. 19 Georgia 38-31 in front of a hungry Neyland Stadium crowd in early October. The Vols trailed 24-3 at one point in the second quarter, and morale was at an all-time low for the season at that point.
Remember, this was just a week after an ugly loss to Arkansas. And that loss had come after heartbreaking losses to Florida and Oklahoma in previous games. It looked as though Tennessee’s ship was dead in the water.
But then Josh Dobbs and the offense caught fire, and 31 unanswered points later, Tennessee had a lead in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee would go on to win 38-31 after safety Brian Randolph batted down what would’ve been the game-tying touchdown pass as time expired.
The victory over Georgia was Tennessee’s first over their SEC East rival since 2009. The win showed Tennessee did have what it took to win big games despite choking away leads late in previous games that season. It showed the Vols were still on the right track.
But most importantly, that win salvaged a 2015 season that was teetering on the brink of disaster.
