Welcome Tennessee fans

[Tyler Maryak]

Did you know that Florida won a national championship?

This guy...

[golfingomez]

Did you know that Florida won a national championship?

such greatness in this post

[MeanGreenTexan]

Of course, they won one under Steve Spurrier (1996) and two under Urban Meyer (2006, 2008). They also were absolutely massacred in the 1996 Orange Bowl by one of Nebraska's greatest teams, 62-24. We enjoyed that game almost as much as our Citrus Bowl victory (20-14) over Eddie George and Ohio State.

Have you ever seen the big-ass ring from the 2008 squad?   Wow!

[oldguystudent]

Have you ever seen the big-ass ring from the 2008 squad?   Wow!

Bet it took a mighty ton of concrete stands to pay for that thing.

@Volosaurus rex with all due apologies, the remarks about Florida are of great amusement to us, but in no way are they at your expense.  They are in reference to our dearly departed head coach and his inability to speak of North Texas, but rather constantly about the national championship he won while a positions coach at Florida and the "big ass ring" he got as a result.

[Volosaurus rex]

Thanks for the context, oldguystudent. That does clarify things. It sounds like your former head coach and Lane Kiffin are cut from the same cloth. During his one season at Tennessee, Kiffin never embraced Tennessee's tradition. Instead, he made it rather clear that he wanted to transform UT into USC east and went so far as to prominently display large images of USC players, such as Reggie Bush, in high-traffic areas of Tennessee's football complex.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Volosaurus rex

[Volosaurus rex]

By the way, you guys really should drop by Vol Nation. You could give some of our whiny, acid-tongued forum contributors a superb and much-needed example of how to handle adversity with grace.

[oldguystudent]

By the way, you guys really should drop by Vol Nation. You could give some of our whiny, acid-tongued forum contributors a superb and much-needed example of how to handle adversity with grace.

I've been lurking there.  They seem rather perplexed that we make fun of everybody and everything here.

[Army of Dad]

Of course, they won one under Steve Spurrier (1996) and two under Urban Meyer (2006, 2008). They also were absolutely massacred in the 1996 Orange Bowl by one of Nebraska's greatest teams, 62-24. We enjoyed that game almost as much as our Citrus Bowl victory (20-14) over Eddie George and Ohio State.

The Gator in me wishes to condemn you with a Rick Villareal AD for the rest of time.

Sorry, you seem nice and all, but to dredge up the debacle against those corn shucker jerkoffs (to quote Forrest) means I just can't help myself.

[eulessismore]

Did you know that Florida won a national championship?

+1, but I think you should mention the name of a certain coach who "helped" win that championship, and who "knew what it's like" to win a national championship.

[GreenTexan13]

By the way, you guys really should drop by Vol Nation. You could give some of our whiny, acid-tongued forum contributors a superb and much-needed example of how to handle adversity with grace.

Do you guys have any fans on there that predate 1975? I would love to hear the tale of how the mighty North Texas came into Neyland and took the win that day. I'm to young... All I know is that SEC team + North Texas=. Green Blood Bath.

[Ben Gooding]

The Gator in me wishes to condemn you with a Rick Villareal AD for the rest of time.

Sorry, you seem nice and all, but to dredge up the debacle against those corn shucker jerkoffs (to quote Forrest) means I just can't help myself.

I was a 9 year old boy watching that game and I distinctively remember trying to cry myself to sleep. My late and great dad (UF alum) came in my room and told me to stop because we'll be back next year and we're gonna win it. Well, he was right. Not only did we make it back but we demolished our real rival in Florida State 52-20. I then got older and moved away from the east coast and now I am UNT alum. I rep green, but I bleed orange n' blue. And, of course, you can't spell citrus without UT. 

[Volosaurus rex]

The Gator in me wishes to condemn you with a Rick Villareal AD for the rest of time.

Sorry, you seem nice and all, but to dredge up the debacle against those corn shucker jerkoffs (to quote Forrest) means I just can't help myself.

Actually, both the '96 Florida and '98 Tennessee teams owe Nebraska an ironic debt of gratitude. The whippings that both teams took at the hands of the Cornhuskers toughened them and prepared them for national championship runs the following year. I have no frame of reference to contextualize the collective angst that you guys bear toward Rick Villareal, but I do know that the interests of Tennessee's athletic department were served well for roughly forty years by two men with mixed Tennessee and Florida allegiances: Bob Woodruff and Doug Dickey.

[UNT90]

By the way, you guys really should drop by Vol Nation. You could give some of our whiny, acid-tongued forum contributors a superb and much-needed example of how to handle adversity with grace.

Well, we do have posters in some cases that have 5 or 6 decades worth of experience in dealing with adversity (read: losing). 

Nothing beats experience, eh?

Edited November 13, 2015 by UNT90

[Volosaurus rex]

Do you guys have any fans on there that predate 1975? I would love to hear the tale of how the mighty North Texas came into Neyland and took the win that day. I'm to young... All I know is that SEC team + North Texas=. Green Blood Bath.

My earliest memories of Big Orange football are, vaguely, the 1965 Bluebonnet Bowl and, more clearly, the 1966 Gator Bowl. 1967 was the first year that I followed Tennessee football on a game-to-game basis. Strangely my memories of that season are far clearer than those associated with the '75 season. Perhaps that is attributable to the psychological tendency to magnify the glory years and suppress more painful memories. I can tell you that was a decent North Texas team, at least in terms of its record (7-4), vs. a Tennessee team that was rapidly declining due to Bill Battle's inability to recruit SEC-caliber athletes. In any event, give me a little time and I will collate the memories of Tennessee fans who were there for that game. If you want to thoroughly peruse the appropriate thread, here is the link: http://www.volnation.com/forum/tennessee-vols-football/249205-north-texas-beat-vols-time-met.html.

(1) "We finished 7-5 against a very easy schedule. We also lost that year to a 6-5 Ole Miss and a 7-4 Vandy. Still we had no business losing to North Texas. We made their year and their fans probably still talk about that game."

(2) "It's hard to believe that Bill Battle wasn't fired after 1975. I remember an interview with Battle where he described the game unfolding a lot like Memphis '96. We could move the ball with ease between the 20's but kept coming away without points in the red zone (turnovers, missed fg's, stopped on downs). He said that he even got a sympathy call from Bear Bryant the next day. LOL!"

(3) "They had a really good year, but it was still a monumental upset. . . .  North Texas couldn't beat Memphis that year because they couldn't stop Memphis's QB, Kippy Brown."

(4) "Bill Battle's drop off was epic. With Doug Dickey's recruits, he was consistently a 10 game winner. See his first three seasons. He managed 8 wins in his 4th season, thanks primarily to Condredge Holloway, Haskell Stanback and barefoot kicker Ricky Townsend. Battle's contacts were the same as the Bear's and he couldn't beat out Bryant for the top recruits.

I was a kid, but I remember that the fans reacted to that 7-5 record the way we reacted to Dooley's records. The next year he was 5-5 after losing to Kentucky, 7-0, yes Kentucky. By then, the moving van had been sent. Beating Vandy 13-10 was simply a nice parting gift."

(5) "It was my freshman year and I was at the game. They ran a kickoff back for a TD. We had first and goal inside the 10 once and no kidding, we ended up at 4th and goal from the 41 after a series of miscues. I think we punted but I don't remember for sure. As was typical in every game that year, even though we had Mickey Marvin on the line, we couldn't pass block anyone all year. Randy Wallace was the QB and he often got swarmed after just a few steps back. Often he just chucked it toward Larry Seivers and he would just out jump everyone for the ball.

Disclaimer: Actually yardages and such may not be totally accurate due to old age."

(6) "I was at everyone of those [1975] games and left Neyland chanting "Battle's Gotta Go!!!" after the NTS game. Depressing year."

(7) "The [North Texas] KO return was by Sears Woods. I will never forget it."

(8) "That game was my first visit to Neyland Stadium. Not quite the experience I was looking for on my first visit. I was 14 and all you heard that day was Johnny Majors was coming home."

Edited November 13, 2015 by Volosaurus rex

[Volosaurus rex]

By the way, seeing your thread, "Billboard anyone?", reminded me of a story from one of the darkest six-week periods in Tennessee football history. The 1988 team began that season 0-6 and was outscored 211-98. Ken Donahue, architect of the 35-7 victory over Miami in the 1986 Sugar Bowl, was fired mid-season. The following account is excerpted from a story published in the Chicago Tribune (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-10-05/sports/8802040979_1_athletic-director-doug-dickey-tennessee-football-vols/2):

"You can feel the big chill that`s gripping the hearts of Tennessee football fans in the wake of an 0-5 start, the worst in the school`s history. The latest and cruelest blow came Saturday, when Washington State rolled up 618 yards, the most ever surrendered by a Tennessee football team, in administering a 52-24 thrashing to the Volunteers. . . . It meant enough to Nashville sportscaster Duncan Stewart that he has been living on a billboard for two weeks, vowing not to come down until the Vols win a game. Unfortunately, he proved no more adroit than his favorite football team, falling off a ladder over the weekend and injuring an ankle. But he`s still standing his ground, so to speak. Stewart is sleeping on the ground under the billboard until the ankle is well enough to allow him to climb back to his perch. Another Volunteer fan, Joe Grant, of nearby Wartburg, has climbed atop a Deli-Mart store to wait for the first Tennessee victory. The Vols are off this week, and if they don`t beat Alabama Oct. 15, the entire population of Tennessee may be living on rooftops before long."

I don't know how long Grant maintained his vigil, but Duncan Stewart went the distance, finally coming down from the billboard after a 38-25 victory over Memphis. Hopefully, your turnaround will be as quick and dramatic as that of the 1988-89 Vols. The 1988 team finished that season with five consecutive wins. Tennessee finished 11-1 the following year, including a 31-27 victory over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, and was ranked 5th in both polls.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Volosaurus rex

[eulessismore]

Don't forget Sam Houston.

I'll go ahead and express my thanks for John Neely Bryan, originally of Fayetteville, Tennessee, who came to what is now Dallas, the City which as my employer has put meals on the table and a roof over my head for the last 30 years.  Then, giving us an early example of what you can do with serious drinking, he ended up in the Austin State Hospital (for the insane), and is buried in a pauper's grave somewhere on the hospital grounds, exact  location unknown.  I figured this link from "findagrave" might be appropriate, since that has never quite been accomplished for the man, despite what is written here:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSmpid=46771573&GRid=12537499

 

Edited November 13, 2015 by eulessismore

[UNT90]

By the way, seeing your thread, "Billboard anyone?", reminded me of a story from one of the darkest six-week periods in Tennessee football history. The 1988 team began that season 0-6 and was outscored 211-98. Ken Donahue, architect of the 35-7 victory over Miami in the 1986 Sugar Bowl, was fired mid-season. The following account is excerpted from a story published in the Chicago Tribune (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-10-05/sports/8802040979_1_athletic-director-doug-dickey-tennessee-football-vols/2):

"You can feel the big chill that`s gripping the hearts of Tennessee football fans in the wake of an 0-5 start, the worst in the school`s history. The latest and cruelest blow came Saturday, when Washington State rolled up 618 yards, the most ever surrendered by a Tennessee football team, in administering a 52-24 thrashing to the Volunteers. . . . It meant enough to Nashville sportscaster Duncan Stewart that he has been living on a billboard for two weeks, vowing not to come down until the Vols win a game. Unfortunately, he proved no more adroit than his favorite football team, falling off a ladder over the weekend and injuring an ankle. But he`s still standing his ground, so to speak. Stewart is sleeping on the ground under the billboard until the ankle is well enough to allow him to climb back to his perch. Another Volunteer fan, Joe Grant, of nearby Wartburg, has climbed atop a Deli-Mart store to wait for the first Tennessee victory. The Vols are off this week, and if they don`t beat Alabama Oct. 15, the entire population of Tennessee may be living on rooftops before long."

I don't know how long Grant maintained his vigil, but Duncan Stewart went the distance, finally coming down from the billboard after a 38-25 victory over Memphis. Hopefully, your turnaround will be as quick and dramatic as that of the 1988-89 Vols. The 1988 team finished that season with five consecutive wins. Tennessee finished 11-1 the following year, including a 31-27 victory over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, and was ranked 5th in both polls.

So you guys are going to fullfill your fan obligation to poor little ole North Texas and pay to fly a "Fire Rick Villarreal" banner over Neyland Stadium prior to the game.

Right?

Edited November 13, 2015 by UNT90

[BillySee58]

By the way, you guys really should drop by Vol Nation. You could give some of our whiny, acid-tongued forum contributors a superb and much-needed example of how to handle adversity with grace.

Welcome. I'm originally from Tennessee, and grew up a Vols fan. I lived in Franklin from when I was born in 93 until I was 7, so I was there for the national championship but didn't start really paying attention until the Ice Man years. I was 8 when the Vols won at the swamp in 01, and I was hooked from there. Cool to see what Butch is doing. Hoping we get a guy like that at UNT so recruiting can be fun and fruitful.

I'll be rooting for th school I attend(to probably no avail), which will be weird to root against Tennessee for the first time ever. Hoping for a strong finish for both teams.

[Eagle-96]

I was a 9 year old boy watching that game and I distinctively remember trying to cry myself to sleep. My late and great dad (UF alum) came in my room and told me to stop because we'll be back next year and we're gonna win it. Well, he was right. Not only did we make it back but we demolished our real rival in Florida State 52-20. I then got older and moved away from the east coast and now I am UNT alum. I rep green, but I bleed orange n' blue. And, of course, you can't spell citrus without UT. 

Hold on Hold on hold on. So who are you gonna root for next year when WE play Florida? 

 

I followed TCU and Florida State football when I was a kid and into high school. The MINUTE I stepped on the campus of the greatest university on earth. I became a UNT fan in ALL sports and have forsaken any allegiance I had to ANY other school. I can't, for the life of me, understand why others don't do the same. The ONLY exception to the rule is the allowance of secondary rooting for the school your spouse attended.

[Ben Gooding]

Hold on Hold on hold on. So who are you gonna root for next year when WE play Florida? 

 

I followed TCU and Florida State football when I was a kid and into high school. The MINUTE I stepped on the campus of the greatest university on earth. I became a UNT fan in ALL sports and have forsaken any allegiance I had to ANY other school. I can't, for the life of me, understand why others don't do the same. The ONLY exception to the rule is the allowance of secondary rooting for the school your spouse attended.

UF was bred in me. I can't help it. I'm all UNT though. Have no worries about that. 

[Christopher Walker]

I rep green, but I bleed orange n' blue. 

Ew, gross.

[oldguystudent]

It really should be Grey Goose, but...

[Eagle-96]

UF was bred in me. I can't help it. I'm all UNT though. Have no worries about that. 

Sooooooooooooo. Who ya gonna root for when we play? please say us please say us please say us

[Volosaurus rex]

For GreenTexan13 and others who may be interested in more substantive data on the 1975 game, I ran across this retrospective article (http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/11/11/312400/Remembering-North-Texas-Victory-Over.aspx). Pertinent, game-specific excerpts include the following:

"North Texas was coached by Hayden Fry, a Marine veteran and later the successful coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes. . . . Coach Fry said after the Tennessee game that he had actually interviewed for the Tennessee opening after the 1963 season with Tennessee athletic director Bob Woodruff, who had been his head coach when he played quarterback at Baylor. Doug Dickey, another former Woodruff player, but at Florida, was hired instead. Coach Fry also had two sons who played for North Texas in 1975.

Tennessee in 1975 was 3-2 coming into the North Texas game. The Vols had enjoyed impressive wins over Maryland, Auburn and LSU, but had lost to UCLA in Los Angeles early in the season. The week before the North Texas game, they had also lost 30-7 to a good Alabama team under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant at Birmingham’s Legion Field. . . . At the time of the Tennessee game, North Texas was 3-4. It had been trounced by Oklahoma State and lost convincingly to San Diego State, but had barely lost to both Memphis and Mississippi State. So this team from Denton, Texas, was at least a competitive team. 

The Mean Green had decided to start their third-string quarterback, Glen Ray, against Tennessee. Besides guiding the team as quarterback, the Nebraska transfer would also do an old-fashioned quick kick. The Vols . . . went out to a 7-0 lead on a short dive by [running back Stanley] Morgan early in the second quarter. But the fact that the Tennessee score came after two missed field goals by North Texas’ Iseed Khoury of Israel showed that a tough contest was ahead for the Vols

Tennessee later had the ball again in the second quarter, but quarterback Gary Roach did not see defensive end Jimmy Burkholder and pitched right into his hands at the Vols 8-yard line. North Texas running back Sears Woods than scored the touchdown to help tie the game. On the subsequent kickoff, Burkholder hit Tennessee’s Jeff Moore, who fumbled. After a recovery by Bruce Bell, Woods again scored from short distance to put North Texas up 14-7 at the half. According to the news reports, the Vols were booed as they left the field before intermission. 

After a tense-filled and back-and-forth second half, Tennessee late in the fourth quarter finally managed to reach the end zone, which in those days was decorated with the team’s name and not checkerboards. With 4:25 remaining, a Wallace-to-John Murphy pass from two yards cut the North Texas lead to 14-13. . . .  Thinking the Vols might have time to get the ball back, Coach Battle called for the tying one-point kick. The armchair coaches in the stands disagreed, and many Big Orange fans booed the decision as Jimmy Gaylor kicked the extra point.

And then the unthinkable happened. Woods – who would rush for 121 yards that game, but less than 500 yards for the entire season -- took the subsequent kickoff, faked out safetyman Billy Arbo, and went 98 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. That would prove to be the difference, and the Vols suffered a shocking 21-14 defeat. In a game in which many Vol players were injured, their pride was damaged even more.

. . . . North Texas would win out that year, while Tennessee would finish the season 7-5. The Vols would not go to a bowl for the first time since the 1964 season, although they did have a season-ending victory at Hawaii in early December."  

 

Note: Looking at this box score (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19751025&id=hHMsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-csEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5618,4900328&hl=en), Tennessee held an advantage in total offense of 469-230 yards but turned the ball over five times, including fumbles at their own 11- and 21-yard lines, respectively, which North Texas capitalized on for touchdowns. Neyland Maxims violated by Tennessee in this loss:

"1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.  2. Play for and make the breaks and when one comes your way - SCORE".

Edited November 13, 2015 by Volosaurus rex

[Ben Gooding]

Sooooooooooooo. Who ya gonna root for when we play? please say us please say us please say us

I will be rooting for North Texas. That is a program defining win for North Texas if we can miraculously pull that off in The Swamp. Florida can afford to lose to Montana Tech A&T Technical College for the School of Deaf and Dumb and they will still be U of Florida. However, if/when Florida does win it will not sting as much as losing to anyone else.