1989 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1989 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his 13th year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of eleven wins and one loss (11–1 overall, 6–1 in the SEC), as SEC co-champion, and with a victory over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl Classic. The Volunteers offense scored 346 points while the defense allowed 217 points.

1989 Tennessee Volunteers football
SEC co-champion Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 31–27 vs. Arkansas
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 5
Record	11–1 (6–1 SEC)
Head coach	Johnny Majors (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Phillip Fulmer (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Doug Mathews (1st season)
Captain	Eric Still
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ← 1988 1990 →

1989 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Tennessee +	6	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Alabama +	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Auburn +	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Florida	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Ole Miss	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Georgia	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
LSU	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	Colorado State*		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 17–14	93,652	^[1]
September 9	at No. 6 UCLA*		Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	PPV	W 24–6	54,316	^[2]
September 16	Duke*	No. 17	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 28–6	93,659	^[3]
September 30	No. 4 Auburn	No. 12	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	W 21–14	95,341	^[4]
October 7	Georgia	No. 6	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	ESPN	W 17–14	96,058	^[5]
October 21	at No. 10 Alabama	No. 6	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)	CBS	L 30–47	75,962	^[6]
October 28	at LSU	No. 11	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	TBS	W 45–39	71,634	^[7]
November 11	Akron*	No. 11	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 52–9	91,833	^[8]
November 18	Ole Miss	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	PPV	W 33–21	93,851	^[9]
November 25	at Kentucky	No. 8	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	ESPN	W 31–10	55,237	^[10]
December 2	Vanderbilt	No. 8	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	TBS	W 17–10	92,975	^[11]
January 1, 1990	vs. No. 10 Arkansas*	No. 8	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 31–27	74,358	^[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Reggie Cobb	Running Back	2	30	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Marion Hobby	Defensive End	3	74	Minnesota Vikings
Eric Still	Guard	4	99	Houston Oilers
Tracy Hayworth	Linebacker	7	174	Detroit Lions
Kent Elmore	Punter	7	190	Los Angeles Rams
Thomas Woods	Wide Receiver	8	205	Miami Dolphins

• Reference:^[14]

References

1. "Tennessee Vols hold off stubborn Colorado State". The Times and Democrat. September 3, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "It's a Tennessee waltz over UCLA". The Los Angeles Times. September 10, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Tennessee rumbles past Devils". Greensboro News & Record. September 17, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tennessee thumps Auburn". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. October 1, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tennessee nudges Georgia 17–14". The State. October 8, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Vols drown in Tide revival". The Tennessean. October 22, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Vols victorious: Tigers' losing streak running strong". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. October 29, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Tennessee's speed is too much for Zips to stop". The Akron Beacon Journal. November 12, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Tennessee runs over Rebs, 33–21". Hattiesburg American. November 19, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Vols rally for 31–10 win over Cats". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 26, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Cotton-bound Vols top Vandy, 17–10". Kingsport Times-News. December 3, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Webb, turnovers undo Hogs". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 2, 1990. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "1989 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
14. "1990 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.