KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee first fielded a football team in 1891.
Vols Wire will look at each calendar date that Tennessee has played on in the history of the program.
September 10
The Big Orange has an overall record of 3-2 in contests in which it has played on Sept. 10.
The Volunteers first played on that date in 1977. That game was against the University of California at Neyland Stadium, and the Golden Bears left Rocky Top with a 27-17 victory.
As it turned out, the Vols would go 4-7 in that season, the team’s first with Johnny Majors as its head coach. The previous year, Majors, a former UT star on the gridiron, won a national championship at the University of Pittsburgh.
He came marching home to replace Bill Battle.
Tennessee has played three home games on Sept. 10 and lost two of them, including a 31-26 defeat at the hands of Duke in 1988.
That year, the Blue Devils were coached by Steve Spurrier, who would go on to become the Vols’ arch-nemesis during his days as Florida’s coach.
In 1983, UT routed New Mexico, 31-6. In 1994, the Vols beat Georgia.
The Big Orange last played on Sept. 10 in 2016 in a historic contest against Virginia Tech in a neutral-site game at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Vols beat the Hokies, 45-24, at the Battle of Bristol.