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6. 1998 Tennessee Volunteers (13-0, 8-0 SEC)



The season: After losing quarterback Peyton Manning, the Volunteers weren't even expected to win the SEC East in 1998. Tennessee had lost five games in a row to rival Florida and didn't have much to be excited about after losing to Nebraska 42-17 in the Orange Bowl to end the previous season. But the Volunteers quickly learned how to win close games. In the opener against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, Tennessee's Jeff Hall kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired in a 34-33 win. In the following game against the Gators, the Vols won 20-17 in overtime when Hall made a 41-yard field goal and Florida's Collins Cooper missed a 32-yarder. The Vols won at Auburn 17-9, but only after defensive end Shaun Ellis returned an intercepted shovel pass 90 yards for a touchdown and its defense denied the Tigers on four straight plays at the UT 1. The Volunteers' most impressive victory might have been a 22-3 win at No. 7 Georgia, which came a week after they lost star running back Jamal Lewis to a season-ending knee injury.
Signature moment: Ranked No. 1 in the country with an 8-0 record, the Volunteers trailed No. 10 Arkansas 24-20 with less than three minutes to play at Neyland Stadium. Arkansas tried to punt from its 41-yard line, but the ball sailed over punter Chris Akin's head. Akin booted the ball out of the back end zone for a safety, leaving the Hogs a 24-22 lead with 2:56 to play. Tennessee received a free kick and went nowhere on four straight plays. Arkansas got the ball back and needed to kill only 87 seconds to win the game. But on the second play, defensive tackle Billy Ratliff pushed guard Brandon Burlsworth into quarterback Clint Stoerner. Stoerner stumbled and fumbled, and Ratliff recovered the ball at the Hogs' 43. Travis Henry ran five straight times, scoring on a 1-yard run with 28 seconds to go to win the game 28-24.
The championship game: The Volunteers played No. 2 Florida State in a Fiesta Bowl marred by sloppiness. There were a total of seven turnovers and 21 penalties for 165 yards. Tennessee's defense limited FSU star Peter Warrick to only one catch, and the Seminoles couldn't muster much offense with quarterback Marcus Outzen making his third career start. Quarterback Tee Martin threw a 79-yard touchdown to Peerless Price to put the Vols ahead 20-9 with 9:17 to go. The 23-16 victory gave the Volunteers their first national championship since 1951.
The stars: Martin had the unenviable job of replacing Manning as the Vols' starting quarterback, but he was brilliant. He completed 57.5 percent of his passes for 2,442 yards with 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions. After Lewis was lost to the knee injury, Henry ran for 998 yards and seven touchdowns. Price caught 65 passes for 1,119 yards and 11 touchdowns. Linebacker Al Wilson and Ellis led a stingy defense.
Why they're No. 6: Though they lost Manning and 10 other players who were drafted or signed with NFL teams, the Volunteers simply found ways to win games. They needed a controversial pass-interference call to beat Syracuse in the opener, then received the miracle of all miracles against Arkansas. But the Volunteers beat five ranked teams away from Neyland Stadium and finished unbeaten.