No. 4: 2014
Head Coach: Butch Jones
Record: 7-6 (3-5, SEC)
Best win(s): at South Carolina, vs. Iowa
Key offensive players: Josh Dobbs, Jalen Hurd, Von Pearson
Key defensive players: A.J. Johnson, Cam Sutton, Brian Randolph
In year two for Butch Jones it was Justin Worley, Riley Ferguson, Nathan Peterman, and Joshua Dobbs manning the quarterback room. Worley would get the start against Utah State in the season-opener as Tennessee won 38-7 in a Sunday night home contest.
The Vols were 2-0 going into a trip at No. 4 Oklahoma.
Tennessee was outmanned by the Sooners, falling 34-10 and then lost at Georgia, 35-32.
The Vols suffered a 10-9 loss against Florida, extending the Gators’ win streak to 10 years. A loss to Alabama followed along with a win over Chattanooga and a blowout defeat at No. 3 Ole Miss.
The Alabama game was the turning point in the season, although it resulted in a 34-20 loss. Peterman started his second career game at quarterback in place of an injured Worley, but struggled before being relieved by Dobbs. Dobbs provides a spark behind a struggling offensive line that had lost an abundance of talent from the year before.
A week later, Tennessee traveled to South Carolina. This was Dobbs’ breakout performance, almost single-handedly leading the charge with 301 passing yards, 166 rush yards and five total touchdowns. Down 14 points late in the fourth quarter, Tennessee rallied to send the game into overtime and won, 45-42.
Defensive end Derek Barnett had a breakout season, picking up 10 sacks as a freshman.
Tennessee went 3-1 in its final four games to end the year at 6-6, qualifying for its first bowl game since 2010. Star linebacker A.J. Johnson was kicked off the team with three games left due to charges of rape, but the Vols were able to get into the TaxSlayer Bowl and route Iowa, 45-28.
For the first time since 1960, Tennessee had no players taken in the 2015 NFL Draft.