1999 Team of the Year

University of Tennessee
National Championship Football Team

Through one cliffhanger after another, the 1998 Tennessee Vols turned the expression "rising to the occasion" into an art form.

From the previous year, they had lost their most legendary quarterback, their leading pass receiver and their All-America linebacker. Without them, critics said Tennessee would be a so-so team, relegated to struggling for recognition beyond the borders of the Southeastern Conference.

But to a man, the Vols and their coaches thought differently, quietly disputing the notion that the new season would bring a sharp decline in the football program's stature. As one of the players later expressed it, "Nobody expected anything from us. They just didn't know how hungry we were."

Head Coach Phillip Fulmer, having sensed the squad's extraordinary determination, vowed to make the most of his players' potential. "We asked them to listen to their coaches, and they responded the way we hoped they would," he said. The rest is history.

Their 12-0 regular season record, marking the first time Tennessee has gone unbeaten since 1956, is unmatched numerically in UT annals. Before 1998, only the 1938 team managed the feat of going through a 10-game season unbeaten and then adding a bowl victory to finish 11-0.

The Vols advanced to first place in the AP poll on November 8th and remained atop the writers' and broadcasters' balloting for the last three weeks of the regular season with victories over Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. They maintained that position and added first place in the coaches poll when they fought from behind to overcome Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference championship game at Atlanta on December 5.

Arriving at the SEC championship game, the Vols were in no frame of mind to squander their undefeated season at the hands of Western Division title-holder Mississippi State. Tee Martin went to work masterfully as crunch time approached. First he fired a bomb to Peerless Price for the 41-yard go-ahead score. Then on the first play following a State fumble Martin found Cedrick Wilson running through the end zone all alone for the clinching touchdown. The 24-14 victory, combined with losses by previously undefeated UCLA and Kansas State, left the Vols undisputed leaders in both polls heading into the bowl season.

Now the newly formed Bowl Championship Series gave the Vols a chance to compete for something no one dared imagine back in September--the 1998 national title. The top ranked Vols met the Florida State Seminoles as underdogs on Jan. 4 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.

Tennessee's stifling defense and offensive play makers Tee Martin and Peerless Price were too much for the Seminoles' offensive weapon, Peter Warrick, and top ranked defense. A record crowd of 80,470 in Sun Devil Stadium watched the Big Orange crush Florida State and finish a perfect 13-0 national championship season. The game marked the end of the line for Vol broadcasters John Ward and Bill Anderson. Ward concluded his game broadcast by saying, "Count it down with me…five, four, three, two, one. The national champion is clad in Big Orange. Tennessee 23, Florida State 16."