Tennessee quarterback Dewey Warren led the Vols on a dramatic scoring drive to beat UCLA in Memphis in 1965. He capped the 37-34 comeback victory by running for the winning touchdown on fourth down.

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However the Tennessee-UCLA game might go Sept. 1 at the Rose Bowl, it is unlikely it will measure up to the 1965 game, played at the new Memphis Memorial Stadium. It was a "made for TV game," in the days before there were such things. Bob Woodruff and UCLA athletic director J.D. Morgan had rolled the dice and scheduled the intersectional series.

If the game were played today, Dewey Warren's visage and the game tape would be all over Sports Center. The game would be on "ESPN Classic" the next night, with the "talking heads" having a field day.

The passage of time has not dimmed the memories of quarterbacks Dewey Warren and Gary Beban and head coaches Doug Dickey and Tommy Prothro, in a game Vol broadcaster George Mooney dubbed the "Rosebonnet Bowl." That appellation stemmed from the post-season destinations of the two teams, UCLA against Michigan State in the Rose Bowl, Tennessee versus Tulsa in the Bluebonnet Bowl. UCLA came in No. 5, Tennessee No. 7.

Woodruff called the Memphis venue a "neutral site," but Prothro dissented. "Neutral site? Playing Tennessee in Memphis is like playing Notre Dame in Rome!" he said. Woodruff always laughed heartily when recalling Prothro's comments.

The game came Dec. 4, linebacker Frank Emanuel's 23rd birthday. Over the years, the Vols have won games by any number of scores, but not quite the way they did this one. The final tally was 37-34, Tennessee, a score that shocked Vol fans who learned their football at Bob Neyland's knee.

The teams zipped up and down the field in the Bluff City, and no lead was safe until the final gun sounded. The game showcased excitement, big plays, drama, and the requisite amount of controversy.

The Vols had given up 30 points or more only 14 times in 476 games between the start of the 1915 season and the Vanderbilt game in 1965 and lost every one. Seven of Neyland's teams gave up 34 points or fewer for an entire season.

No one probably thought to check out Neyland's final resting place, Section Z in Knoxville's National Cemetery, just to make sure everything was in order.

It came down to a memorable finish among the lengthening shadows, UCLA leading 34-29. Do or die time. The Vols had the spheroid some 65 yards away.

"I came to the sideline to Coach Dickey, but he didn't say too much," Warren recalled. "I remember going back to the huddle and saying, 'This is it. We have one last shot. You guys block and I'll throw, and let's go down the field and go win the game.' "

Despite having two pulled groin muscles, Dewey led the last-ditch drive, making the big completions to Johnny Mills, who had a school-record 10 on the day, and Walter Chadwick.

Finally, Tennessee had the ball a yard away from the Promised Land. It was fourth down.

Warren rolled left and lumbered in for the score on a run that appeared to take an eternity. He was recently asked if he actually scored.

"Did the official raise his hands?" Dewey replied.

Defensive back Bob Petrella intercepted a desperation pass by Beban, the 1967 Heisman winner, to cinch the verdict, but was knocked cold in front of the UCLA bench for his efforts.

Prothro, a Memphis native, went ballistic about the officiating and outcome, to the point of saying, "For the first time in my life, I am ashamed to be Southerner." Some called his outburst "churlish." Others weren't so polite.

From that point on, however, the series has been hard-fought and is a keeper, with Tennessee leading 7-4-2.

What was the impact of this game on future Vol fortunes? No one knows for sure, but there was an early indicator on signing day a week later.

The Vol performance that day (and the entirety of the 1965 season) must have had a positive impact on prep prospects in Tampa, Cincinnati, Kingsport, Jackson, Johnson City, Nashville, and Oliver Springs. That's where the some of the top prospects for the 1966 freshman class were from, and the Vols signed them all: Steve Kiner, Jack Reynolds, Vic Dingus, Don McLeary, John Rippetoe, Mike Jones, and Gary Kreis.

The Vols also inked Jim McEver, a second-generation famous name from Davidson, N. C., the son of Gene McEver, the legendary Vol tailback who helped start all this madness in 1928. Jim played well on the freshman team, then left school.

A couple of high school sophomores, probably heralded prospects even then, Phillip Fulmer in Winchester and Curt Watson in Crossville, also had to be watching that season's proceedings closely.

It was an amazing afternoon of football. The crowd was in the 40,000 range, but probably twice that many Vol fans now claim to have been in attendance.

Tom Mattingly is the author of "The Tennessee Football Vault: The Story of the Tennessee Volunteers, 1891-2006" (2006), to be published in second edition in 2009, and "Tennessee Football: The Peyton Manning Years" (1998). He may be reached at tjmshm@comcast.net . His News Sentinel blog is called "The Vol Historian."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.