Mattingly: 1989 Vols were resourceful champions

The 1989 Tennessee football season, that ended up 11-1 and included a 31-27 win over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, was quite a treat for Vol fans, given the Vols had compiled a 5-6 record a year before.

There were several bumps along the way before the 1989 season ended, but the team's performance from Sept. 2 against Colorado State to the final gun of the Cotton Bowl defined the word "resiliency." It was the first 11-win season since 1970.

The Vols had won their final five games of the 1988 season after an 0-6 start, giving hope that 1989 might be better. No one knew exactly what "better" was, but no one wanted to go through another 5-6 campaign.

The opening game was no thing of beauty, the Vols defeating Colorado State, 17-14.

The Vols then winged their way to Los Angeles, thence to Pasadena, for a night contest with UCLA in the Rose Bowl. The Bruins were a heavy favorite, oddsmakers saying 15 points.

The final was 24-6, Tennessee, and it wasn't that close. UCLA head coach Terry Donahue said it was an "absolutely flawless performance" by Tennessee. Freshman Chuck Webb ran for 134 yards on 22 carries, while Reggie Cobb added 14 carries for 78 yards.

The Vols defeated Duke 28-6, in Steve Spurrier's last season before he headed home to Florida.

The Tennessee-Auburn game was a classic for those dressed in orange. Tennessee won, 21-14, in a driving rainstorm that seemed to be centered over Neyland Stadium. Embarrassed a year earlier in a 38-6 loss at Auburn, Vol defenders held Auburn to 31 yards on 29 rushes.

Cobb rushed for 225 yards, including a 79-yard TD run. Webb added 93. Cobb felt vindicated.

"They made some remarks this week, saying I wasn't going to be a factor in the game," he said afterwards.

A 17-14 win over Georgia followed, with Cobb and Webb combining for 189 yards, despite a Bulldog defense geared to stop the run.

During the open date week that followed, Majors announced that Cobb had been booted off the team for "a violation of team rules." Russ Bebb noted that the action was "reportedly for failing a drug test."

That was a major blow, coming 10 days before the always-pivotal Alabama game at Legion Field.

This began a two-game streak where opposing coaches found alarming gaps in Tennessee's pass defense. First of all, Alabama's Gary Hollingsworth threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-30 Tide victory.

Majors made a pivotal move during the game, bringing Dayton's Andy Kelly into the game. Under Kelly's guidance, the Vols put 30 points on the board, as Kelly threw for 228 yards and looked good doing it. Kelly was the Vol signal-caller the rest of the way.

Tennessee defeated LSU the next week in a rare afternoon game at Baton Rouge. LSU's Tommy Hodson continued the aerial onslaught, completing 31 of 49 passes for 438 yards and four TDs. LSU led early 14-0, but the Vols recovered and had an answer for every ensuing LSU score.

Carl Pickens became a two-way player in the Akron game. He was Charles Woodson long before Woodson ever thought about the Heisman Trophy. Against the Zips, Pickens broke up two passes and returned an interception for a touchdown.

The next week against Ole Miss, Pickens intercepted a pass that led to the Vols' go-ahead touchdown. Pickens' performance was overshadowed by Webb's 294 yards rushing. Chuck went over, around, and through Rebel defenders, moving his season total to 1,091 yards. He became only the third Vol to crack the 1,000-yard mark.

Tennessee had a tough game, as usual, at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington. The Vols trailed 10-9 at the half, but rallied to take a 31-10 win. The key play of the game came when Darryl Hardy and Mark Moore stopped Kentucky on fourth-and-1 at the Vol 34 in the third quarter. The Vols dominated the game from that moment on.

Tennessee huffed and puffed its way to a 17-10 win over Vanderbilt, minus Webb, who went home to Toledo with an ankle injury. Tony Thompson came off the planks to gain 128 yards on 33 carries.

The SEC race came down to a three-way tie after Auburn defeated Alabama 30-20 that same afternoon.

In the Cotton Bowl, Webb gained 250 yards rushing and had a 78-yard run for a score that was a thing of beauty. The Vols led 31-13, but had to weather a Razorback rally that cut the margin to four.

With the win, the journey from 5-6 to 11-1 was complete.

The Vols, laughingstocks a year earlier, were now SEC champs. The 1989 team showed the "right stuff," as John Majors used to call it, to get Tennessee back to the top.

Right where the Vols belonged.

Tom Mattingly is the author of "The Tennessee Football Vault: The Story of the Tennessee Volunteers, 1891-2006" (2006), now available in second edition at fine bookstores everywhere, and "Tennessee Football: The Peyton Manning Years" (1998). Send comments to tjmshm@comcast.net. His News Sentinel blog is called "The Vol Historian."