Tennessee football rules the state, except for the odd Moc or Tiger bite | Mike Strange
There are precincts in college football where the battle for intrastate supremacy is real and intense.
Alabama-Auburn is the Iron Bowl. Ole Miss-Mississippi State is the Egg Bowl. Oklahoma-Oklahoma State is Bedlam. Oregon-Oregon State is The Civil War.
Kentucky-Louisville is the Governor’s Cup. New Mexico-New Mexico State is, well, a pillow fight, but it at least inspires a name, the Rio Grande Rivalry.
In Tennessee, the team in Knoxville is far and away the top dog, lacking a worthy long-term challenger.
This week, UT-Martin shows up in town. There will be no goal-post removal riots. We’ll get to that in a second.
The Skyhawks of the Football Championship Subdivision travel from far west Tennessee to receive a nice payday in Neyland Stadium.
Also, they will likely receive something akin to the 50-0 mauling they got here in 2010 from a far less potent Tennessee team.
At least the check stays in the state system. Better to hire Martin than Indiana State (2017), Montana (2011) or UC-Santa Barbara (1971).
Back to state supremacy. Only two in-state teams have beaten the Vols more than twice.
Vanderbilt, an SEC colleague, has 32 wins out of 117 meetings. Yet only 14 of them transpired since 1926. Credit to the ‘Dores for winning five of the past 10 games, but they have a long way to go to elevate the rivalry.
Back in the leather helmet days, Sewanee beat UT 10 of the first 11 meetings. The Vols won the final 11 before the series ended in 1939.
King College of Bristol failed to score a touchdown in seven games. Carson-Newman managed one touchdown in 12 meetings through 1931.
In the 21st century, Tennessee Tech lost two games by a combined 111-0. Austin Peay was sacrificed 45-0 in 2013, ETSU by 59-3 in 2018.
Middle Tennessee State also plays FBS football. For whatever reason, there have been just two meetings, Vol wins in 2002 and 2011.
The other FBS school is Memphis. Now we get a goal-post story.
The Vols and Tigers have met 23 times, Tennessee winning 22. Six of the UT victories were one-score games, so it wasn’t a guaranteed breeze.
Then there was Nov. 9, 1996, the day the goal posts came down at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
The sixth-ranked Vols were favored by 26. It’s arguably the worst performance I ever witnessed by a really good Tennessee team (one that finished 10-2).
The Tigers managed only 153 yards of offense. Their first touchdown was a 1-yard drive following a 77-yard interception return of a Peyton Manning pass. The second was a 95-yard kickoff return that UT fans still argue should have been whistled dead at the Memphis 28.
The third, however, was a 70-yard drive, producing a touchdown with 34 seconds to play and a stunning 21-17 upset.
Memphis fans stormed the field. Down came the goal posts.
That was an Easter picnic compared to what had happened almost to the day 38 years earlier at Shields-Watkins Field in Knoxville.
Chattanooga had bested UT only once, in 1905. From 1913 to 1957, Tennessee reeled off 24 straight wins. But on Nov. 8, 1958, the Mocs shocked the Vols 14-6.
Mocs fans went after the goal posts. Knoxville police intervened. An estimated 1,000 fans were embroiled in a riot that lasted 90 minutes. There were 10 arrests. Eight officers were injured. Cop cars were vandalized. Tear gas and firehoses were used to tame the mob.
Talk about pandemonium reigning.
It had to be the most intense 90 minutes of intrastate college football passion Tennessee has ever seen.
Saturday at Neyland Stadium will be a little calmer.
Mike Strange is a former writer for the News Sentinel. He currently writes a weekly sports column for Shopper News.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football rules the state from east to west
