‘An Inferiority Complex?’
By Tom Mattingly
There was a time Tennessee did not seem to be the biggest deal in town or at least equivalent to their opponent at a bowl game. That may be hard to believe, but it seemed to have happened in the days leading up to the 1971 Sugar Bowl, played at the old Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.
The No. 4 Vols were 10-1 heading toward the game against No. 11 Air Force, but the flyboys seemed to be the center of attention.
Here’s Marvin West’s take on the situation. Marvin has a special touch with stories like this.
Tennessee could have developed an inferiority complex at the 1971 Sugar Bowl. The highly-regarded Air Force team captured New Orleans at night and the Volunteers stood around and watched as bowl hosts fussed over generals and colonels and others wearing brass.
“We could have been reading it wrong, but they seemed embarrassed to be in the same bowl with us,” said quarterback Bobby Scott. “I don’t think they thought we belonged.”
There might have been little chips on some shoulders when it was time to play. Tennessee racked up 24 points on its first four possessions and maintained the mismatch with four interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Air Force found it dangerous to be around linebacker Ray Nettles.
If you’re into numbers, the flyboys finished with minus-12 yards rushing. Scott was MVP and the late-night toast of the town.
A major highlight of that 1970 season was a two-game series against Alabama and Florida in mid-October that was full of angles for the Vols. The Vols had improved markedly since a 36-23 loss to Auburn in the season’s second game.
Passions were high in Knoxville as befits a “pupil against his coach game.” The clash featured Bill Battle at Tennessee versus Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama. The final score that day was 24-0, Tennessee, on a day the Vols intercepted eight passes and dominated the proceedings. It was the first time the Tide had been shut out since the 1959 Liberty Bowl – Penn State 7, Alabama 0.
It was football the way the gods intended. Tennessee wore its orange shirts, while Alabama came out in crimson. The Tide took its place on the East side of Shields-Watkins Field, while Tennessee found a home on the West side. It was the “Third Saturday in October,” and that added to the excitement. A capacity crowd found its way to Gen. Neyland’s famed arena.
A week later, on the “Fourth Saturday in October,” Florida rolled into town. It was Florida’s first trip to Knoxville since 1954. The Gator head coach was Douglas Adair Dickey, who had led the Vols to the heights in his tenure at Tennessee (1964-69).
The Vols led all the way, and the game wasn’t as close as the final score (38-7). Scott threw the ball all over the field (385 yards), and Vol defenders got after the Gators relentlessly. And it could have been worse. That team was a great one that deserved to be remembered along with 1938-40, 1950, 1951, 1965, 1967, 1989, 1990, 1997, 1998, and 2022, to name just a few.
Here’s what offensive guard Don Denbo, the pride of Pulaski, said about that team.
“We give so much attention these days to the individual stars. We forget how important and unique a team is. The 1970 team was a team of individuals who somehow put aside their differences (and there were lots of differences) and melded into a unit. We knew we were not going to get beat. We should not have gotten beat. That team should have been national champions.”
Vol fans remember Jan. 1, 1971 fondly.
Tennessee and Air Force were squaring off on the gridiron.
Those were the days, weren’t they?
- S. West also recalled that sometime during game week, a cadre of local tough guys in New Orleans decided to get after Knoxville entrepreneur and newspaper carrier Bobby Langston, maybe beat up on him a little bit… or maybe a great deal.
Things didn’t look so good for Bobby until a number of Tennessee players showed up on the scene. Things got better for Bobby immediately. It wasn’t quite the Lone Ranger and Tonto showing up to disperse the Cavendish gang, but it was close.
NOTE TO “TOUGH” GUYS: If you messed with Bobby, you needed to be aware that help was quickly on the way … in great numbers.
