1. 1998 - #1 Tennessee 23 - #2 Florida State 16BCS National Championship Game - Fiesta Bowl
This is a story. Where it begins is unique to you.
I'd suggest a drink and a bathroom break. Buckle up. Read in shifts.
For some Vol fans, it begins in 1951, with Tennessee's first outright national championship for a program with storied history. For others, it has roots with names like Doug Dickey and Condredge Holloway. My father was born in 1952, a year too late. His Tennessee Football story includes memories of great players and great games, and great moments. But it was always lacking something.
And such was the tale for many in the baby boomer generation that grew up wearing orange. Big wins to celebrate, but a level yet to be attained. As time went on and new fans grew up, names like Johnny Majors, Reggie White and Tony Robinson entered the picture. But still, a higher goal...
I was born in October 1981. When the Vols ended Alabama's eleven year winning streak in 1982, I certainly don't remember it. When the magical 1985 season unfolded, I went to my first game (against mighty Wake Forest), but the rest of my memories are of my parents' reaction to what was going on, and then my Dad and I watching the highlight tape over and over again after the season had ended.
I made one of the wisest decisions in my life and gave up AYSO in 1988 to give my Saturdays to the Vols. And a great year to start, that was, with the 0-6 start and the 5-6 finish.
My real stories begin in 1989, which is why this list starts there. My childhood hero was Andy Kelly. As we've followed this countdown, I can tell you about staying up late to watch the Vols upset #6 UCLA on the west coast in September 1989. I can tell you about blasting Florida on my birthday the next year, and about Reggie Cobb and Chuck Webb. I missed the game against Pacific where Webb tore his ACL in September 1990, and the next home game I missed was Mississippi State in 2003. I can tell you what it's like to cry when #1 Notre Dame intercepts you in the end zone at Neyland Stadium, and then to cry again when your parents decide to go to the Sugar Bowl without you.
My generation has The Miracle at South Bend. We had Heath Shuler and Peyton Manning. And I was definitely old enough to appreciate the #3 game on this list, when the Vols went to Birmingham and broke Alabama 41-14 in 1995.
Those two games were the definitive memories and parts of my story coming into 1998, fresh off a bitter taste from the Heisman Trophy and Nebraska. The fall of 1998, I was a senior in high school. Already, that's going to be one of the best years of your life. But what unfolded next makes 1998 hard to top.
For all Vol fans, a legacy of greatness as foundation, that just needed one final piece of the puzzle. This is that story.
1998
When the Vols beat Florida in September of 98, a surprisingly confident thought arose amongst the players and the fan base: "We're going to the Fiesta Bowl." Because the Vols had already done everything else. Florida had been the one insurmountable hurdle facing the Tennessee program for the last four years, and now with that monkey off our back, there was nothing else left. Underdogs at Georgia without Jamal Lewis? No problem. Alabama playing spoiler? Nope. And if you didn't believe in destiny yet, Arkansas converted you. The train rolled to the SEC Eastern Division Championship.
Along with all the home games, I was fortunate enough to be in Columbia and Nashville during the regular season. And as the story continued to be written, the love grew. One of the best moments I can ever remember as a UT fan was standing inside Vanderbilt Stadium, looking back out over the top row at the mass of orange humanity outside. Because there are only so many tickets, especially at the tiny home of the Commodores, and thousands of Vol fans were left outside at kickoff with a "Wait, what do you mean I can't scalp a ticket?! What do you mean there are no more tickets?!" look on their face.
The train rolled into Atlanta on the first Saturday of December with questions still on the table. While the Vols had watched #1 Ohio State fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, in the first year of the Bowl Championship Series, Championship Saturday unfolded with three undefeated teams and two spots. The Vols looked like they were in good shape, but you could never be certain.
Then the dominoes fell. First, UCLA went to Miami to play a hurricane makeup game, and Edgerrin James made a name for himself, busting the Bruins. Then, while the Vols were trying to take care of matters in the SEC Championship Game, just when everything looked like it was going to work out clean, #2 Kansas State gave up an overtime touchdown to Brandon Stewart's Texas A&M Aggies, and suddenly only the Vols were left standing. When they'd secured the SEC title later that night, instead of the cuddly Bruins or Wildcats - who to this day, I believe the Vols would've wiped out in the Fiesta Bowl - a more imposing threat rose on the horizon.
Florida State
Months earlier, I was at a wedding reception the week before the Florida game (because all good brides get married in the fall on Tennessee's off week) and watched Florida State throw countless interceptions and get rocked 24-7 by NC State. This was jarring, because at this time, Florida State was THE college football program. The Noles weren't just dominant, they were a story in their own right, overcoming the adversity of two Wide Rights before winning the National Championship in 1993. They would play for the title again in 1996, losing to the same Florida team they had just beaten in the regular season finale. The saying "all they did was piss them off" that I use all the time now was coined by my Dad anytime some team that wasn't Florida or Miami got a two possession lead on Florida State early in the game. And he was right. Florida State was the preseason #1 in the 1991 AP Poll. From that poll until the September 23 poll in 2001, Florida State was never ranked lower than 11th at any point. That's pretty sick right there. If you weren't Florida or Miami, you just didn't beat Florida State. The garnet and gold and the spear and the war chant and Bobby Bowden in what my grandfather calls a "go to hell hat" ("Where'd you get that stupid hat from?" "Go to hell.") defined college football for my generation. While Nebraska may lay rightful claim as the team of the 90s, the triple option isn't as sexy as the speed and athleticism of the Noles.
So when the title game opponent suddenly wasn't UCLA or Kansas State, but THE Florida State Seminoles - who rebounded from that early loss to NC State and caught huge breaks the week before to prevent a Tennessee-Florida rematch - the assumption was that the confidence just went out the window.
But as Phillip Fulmer would later say, "We really weren't intimidated to be playing, quote, Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles."
Christmas Morning
My parents both went to the University of Tennessee and we have two season tickets. From 1985 until 1998, I went to the games with my dad. We'd made it to all the home games in 98, to South Carolina and to Vanderbilt, and made the road trip down for the SEC Championship Game. So when the matchup was set, #1 Tennessee vs. #2 Florida State for the National Championship, the goal was clear. I told my parents, I don't want anything else for Christmas. Just get us there.
My parents played it cool, and left me waking up on Christmas Morning having to tell myself that I had to decide to be happy even if the tickets weren't there. And then they did the "little box inside a bigger box inside a bigger box inside the biggest box" routine, which fooled no one and made me sure the tickets were there as soon as I saw this giant box all wrapped up on Christmas morning. And when I opened the smallest box? Merry Christmas indeed. Kudos to my parents, because those bad boys had to be hard to get.
One of my favorite sermon stories...
Game tickets, plane tickets, hotel reservations, check. We would fly out of Louisville, KY (all flights from Knoxville to Phoenix are booked) on January 3 for the January 4 Fiesta Bowl. And it was like Christmas was extended for another 10 days.
We arrive in Louisville in freezing temperatures in plenty of time for a 12:00 PM flight, with stops in St. Louis and Tulsa en route to Phoenix. The only time in my entire life that I've been on an airplane before this was when I was two or three, and I don't remember it. So I've got those jitters floating around. But we get checked in, and we're on board and ready to go around 12:10. Seems flawless.
The entire plane is full of Tennessee fans. And we wait. No takeoff. And around 12:30, the captain comes over the intercom and says, I swear to God, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a slight malfunction...the device that tells us whether we're going up or down is broken." Which, one, sounds like a problem, and two...shouldn't you know already?
But I digress. They tell us that it's no big deal, that they have to replace the part, there will be a short delay, if we'll please exit the plane and head back to the airport, it won't be long. And please, don't worry, you can leave all of your luggage on the plane. So my Dad and I play along, and we leave our bags on the plane. The tickets to the game are in the bags.
All of the UT fans get off the plane and head right for the bar, and they start drinking. Hours pass. They can't fix the plane. They don't have the part. They have to fly the part in from Chicago. Chicago is under two feet of snow.
We stay in the airport. UT fans keep drinking.
We watch the entireity of two NFL Wild Card games - including Terrell Owens' catch between two defenders against the Green Bay Packers to send the 49ers to the divisional round, after which he cried like a little girl. We wait. We wait.
At this point, the delay progresses to the absurd. 7:00 PM. 8:00 PM. Still no part from Chicago. No open spots on other flights to Phoenix. It's not like we can wait - the game is tomorrow. And not just any game, of course. THE game.
And somewhere along the way, the UT fans - eight solid hours of drinking behind them - start calling airport personel things that I can't repeat on a family blog. Remember, this is before 9/11. And so they're calling these guys everything in the book, and this isn't helping the situation.
Between 9:00 and 10:00, someone from the airport approaches us - I'm pretty sure because my Dad and I are the only two sober people wearing orange - and tells us that two seats have opened up on a flight to Phoenix, and would we like to have them. We're thrilled and say yes...all you have to do is let us walk fifty feet down to the airplane and get our tickets out of the carry on luggage you told us we could leave on the airplane when everything was fine nine hours ago.
"Sir, you can't get your luggage off the plane."
"We don't need our luggage. I don't think you understand. We don't need food, we don't need clothing, we just need our tickets."
"Sir, you can't get on the plane."
So we watch the other plane takeoff without us.
11:00 PM. And at this point, I'm having serious theological conversations with myself. Because God cannot allow this to happen to me.
They finally call us all over, and the UT fans stumble to the gate, and the guy at the airport who's earned his pay today says "Ladies and gentlemen, flight so-and-so from Louisville to Phoenix will not..."
And I swear, he says it this way just to screw with us.
"...be delayed any further. You may board."
If this conversation goes the other way, am I sitting here as a pastor today?
We land in Phoenix at 5:00 AM EST, 3:00 AM local time. I've never been so happy to see a hotel bed. And after about three hours of sleep, here come my Dad's fraternity brothers into the hotel room to wake us up.
It's gameday.
The Difference Between Tennessee Fans and Florida State Fans
When the retiring John Ward said the thing that impressed him most was the two-mile long assembly of Vol fans from the hotel to the stadium that served as an impromptu Vol Walk for the team bus, he wasn't lying. When we're playing well, believe me, the Vols travel and travel well. And for the record, Phoenix is a nice place to be in January.
On the grounds of Sun Devil Stadium, walking around the festivities, you make conversation with a few FSU fans. And, more often than not, you hear condescending overtones. "You guys had a really great season." "Man, you guys had a magical year." "Congratulations on getting here." Essentially, "Nice season, we're really sorry that we're going to bust it up for you." This is Florida State football in the 90s.
They weren't alone. The oddsmakers had the Noles as a six point favorite, and I can't remember another time when an undefeated team played a one loss team for the title, and the one loss team was the favorite.
There's an interesting atmosphere at games like this. You've got a certain percentage of the stadium that's taken by press and "nobilities", a certain neutral element. And then, what you find among UT and FSU fans, are a lot of rich people and rich alumni (read: donors) who haven't been to a game all year (or haven't been keeping up at all) and then said to their trophy wife "Darling, how does Phoenix in January sound?" They don't care much about the outcome, but it was an important event in the history of their university, and by God they were there with their checkbooks. That hurts the middle class families like mine, and is a quiet slap in the face to those who put some of themselves into following the Vols (or Noles, or Buckeyes and Gators, or anyone else) and would kill to be in Tempe, but the ticket wasn't there to be had.
And one final pregame note: in the unaired festivities, which were heavy because this was the first BCS title game, they unveiled a banner for each of the six conferences represented, and then unveiled a separate banner for Notre Dame, which was met with booing of epic proportions. Excellent.
The First Quarter
What's great about going back and watching the DVD is seeing Randy Sanders - in his first assignment - with an "Oh my God, oh my God, please don't screw this up" expression everytime they show him in the box.
The Vols will get the ball and Sanders will get a chance right out of the gate. And Sebastian Janikowski is a beast.
Florida State's defense - christened by Bob Griese as "the best defensive in college football" in pregame - features Corey Simon, Tony Bryant, Lamont Green, Tommy Polley, Mario Edwards, Dexter Jackson, and the like. And the first three plays go like this: Travis Henry one yard, Tee Martin option for one yard, incomplete pass.
But then, a staple crop of Florida State football: David Leaverton is roughed, and the Vols get another chance. Which Tee Martin turns into an instant completion to Peerless Price for 24 yards.
The ABC graphic tells me that Florida State is #1 in the nation in total defense, passing defense, and a paltry #2 in rushing defense and scoring defense.
Two plays later, Tee "run with that football!" Martin scrambles for another first down, and we're in business.
(Dating this game: Keith Jackson has to explain that the yellow line on your television set is, in fact, not painted onto the field, but is computer generated by ABC to show how far a team needs to go to get a first down. "I like it." - Griese. "You're just lazy." - Jackson.)
The drive stalls, including a punishing hit on Travis Henry, and the unusual starts happening. Jeff Hall misses a 32 yard chip shot. The Vols get in the red zone and get no points.
And here comes the litmus test: our defense, praised and relied on all year to get it done, facing the vaunted speed of the Florida State offense. To many Vol fans, it doesn't really matter that Marcus Outzen is playing quarterback instead of the injured Chris Weinke. And on the first play, Travis Minor takes a draw and gets 14 yards. Uh oh. Then it's a slip screen to Peter "Everyone thinks I can beat Tennessee by myself" Warrick (ruled behind the line, so techincally a running play) for 11 yards on the next play. Uh oh again.
But when they try the exact same play to the opposite side, here comes more weirdness: Shaun Ellis bats it backwards behind the line and it becomes a fumble, takes a Tennessee bounce and then Peter Warrick intentionally bats it out of bounds, which you can't do. I can't recall an "illegal batting" penalty (15 yards and loss of down, kids) since.
So on what has to be 2nd and 40 - the ABC guys don't get it figured out in time - Minor runs and gets about 25. On 3rd and 17, the Vols blow up a screen pass, and the threat is avoided. And we all take a deep breath and settle in.
Again, Tennessee moves deep into FSU territory - thanks in part to a late hit penalty, the third 15 yard foul against the Noles in the first quarter - but Travis Henry fumbles at the 35 yard line. Two chances, no points.
The speed of the defenses continues to dominate on both sides. Raynoch Thompson and Al Wilson string out Travis Minor outside while Darwin Walker helps cut him down inside. When Lavernaues Coles goes on a reverse, he gets murdered into the Tennesee bench, and the Vols force a punt. Then Florida State scores a sack of Tee Martin and gets the ball back after a shank with great field position at the UT 43. But Eric Westmoreland dumps Minor for a two yard loss, and two incompletions later we still have a scoreless ballgame.
(Hey look, there's Mark Richt calling plays.)
From the 12 yard line, that's about to change. Tennessee lines up in a full house set, runs play action, Tee Martin pumps and then floats the ball out to Price, who's facing one on one coverage and burns the secondary to the Florida State 12. We're in business. Great, great call by Randy Sanders.
The Second Quarter
The Vols get no closer and have to send out Jeff Hall from 24 yards away. His kick is good, but there's laundry on the field. ("There are some very old truths in the game. One is don't take points off the board. The other is, don't rough the kicker." - Jackson) Four 15 yard penalties, and the Vols play the aggressor and will keep the drive alive.
After a failed trick play from Travis Stephens to John Finlayson, Sanders goes back to the old faithful: play action fake, roll out your quarterback and hit the fullback. Tee Martin connects with Shawn Bryson, and the Vols lead 7-0.Florida State responds by firing a Marcus Outzen pass to Ron Duggans that's good to midfield, and the Noles are thinking that they'll answer very, very quickly.
You've heard all week (month) about Peter Warrick, how he is the best receiver in the nation and will takeover the game by himself, that Warrick is the reason the Noles will win. So on the next play, Outzen decides he's going to force it to him, and Dwayne Goodrich steps in front of the out route. And it's back to the house, 54 yards. Bang bang, Vols are up 14-0. What was just a defensive struggle has turned into a two touchdown lead, and with our defense, you're feeling really, really good about things all of a sudden.
Next Florida State drive, it's three and out highlighted by a Raynoch Thompson sack. And with 11:00-plus still left in the second quarter, I start thinking, "we're going to kill these guys."
Which I think is what Randy Sanders and Tee Martin were thinking, because two plays later Martin fires deep again, but doesn't see the safety Derrick Gibson, who picks it off and runs it back to the five yard line. And our notions of surefire victory were short lived.
First play: Al Wilson vs. Travis Minor. Al Wilson wins. "The hardest yard Travis Minor's ever gained in his life." - Jackson. It takes three tries for FSU to get into the end zone from the five, with William McCray diving into the pile and stretching the ball across. Then more weirdness ensues: Janikowski ("250 pounds of fury." - Jackson) watches his kick get partially blocked following a false start penalty that moved them back and a terrible snap, the ball goes off the crossbar and no good. 14-6 Vols.
After the Vols punt, here comes Peter Warrick's one shining moment: a 51 yard punt return, made less spectacular only by the fact that he's drilled by David Leaverton at the end of it. FSU gets the ball now at the UT 28, and weren't we just in control of this thing? After FSU picks up a first down, behold Peter Warrick's only catch of the night: seven yards. The Noles face 4th and inches and get it on a sneak for first and goal at the 5, make it the 10 after a crucial false start. And they keep going backwards, which eventually leads to 3rd and forever/goal and a jump ball in the corner of the end zone that will fall incomplete, but end the night of Dwayne Goodrich with an ankle injury.
Now, my friends and I break down football the same today as we did back then. And one of the most telling signs of a successful season is what you complain about. In 2005 it was everything, this year it was a quarterback draw that got Erik Ainge hurt. That's the sign of a successful season.
In 1998, when everything's going right, what do you complain about? The burden for us fell to senior Steve Johnson, the cornerback that wasn't Dwayne Goodrich. Johnson was the least impressive piece in the Goodrich/Johnson/Deon Grant/Fred White secondary. His playing time began to be given to the young Andre Lott as the season went on. Steve Johnson was the goat. Before I left Knoxville, I joked with my best friend that Steve Johnson would probably end up winning the game for us.
Peter Warrick had one catch to this point, and Goodrich had scored a touchdown. Now, Steve Johnson would get the assignment on Warrick for the entire second half. Gulp.
Janikowski knocks home a field goal, and it's 14-9. And we're going to the Keith Jackson "Just Kidding!" Retirement Ceremony. And somewhere, John Ward smiles.
The Third Quarter
I was going to write "nothing happens", but you know better than that by now. And let me just say that the Vols should wear those home uniforms always and forever: the wide stripe on the helmet instead of the thin one, and the solid white pants with the single orange T on them. Accept no substitutes.
The momentum is dead even after the 14-0 lead is sapped to 14-9, and Florida State will get the ball with Goodrich done for the day. On the second play, the UT defense again sets the tone: Eric Westmoreland pops Outzen on the sideline, which would be 15 yards in the NFL today. On third down, Outzen fires incomplete. In coverage, Steve Johnson. Three and out.
A partially blocked punt leads to a drive that starts near midfield, but yet another false start gets it going in the wrong direction. The drive goes nowhere, and at this point the Vols are 0 for 6 on third down. But here begins the game of field position. The Noles start this drive at their own 16, which begins with a Coles fumbled reverse into the end zone, which he recovers and gets back to the 10. It becomes three and out and the Vols get great field position.
Tee Martin starts this drive with an actual completed pass to John Finlayson, believe it or not. The drive stalls at the 38 yard line, and Fulmer's got a choice on 4th and 4. He chooses to pin them, and Leaverton's punt is downed at the 9.
The Noles this time get two first downs before Eric Westmoreland scores a sack. However, this remains the drive where Outzen calms down and goes from 4 of 13 at the beginning of this drive to three completions and three first downs. They would sniff the 30 on first down before Billy Ratliff scores a sack. And the 10th FSU penalty - holding - makes it worse. Like 3rd and 34 worse, and the screen won't make it any better. But at least the Noles have turned the field, right? The punt is down at the 5.
Here, Tee Martin makes three of his best throws of the night. The first is to Cedrick Wilson to pick up a first down. The second is to Price with two defenders hanging on Martin for another first down to the 36. On the next play, he rolls out, checks off Finlayson and highpoints one for Jermaine Copeland (Harriman's finest) for yet another first down, and the field position battle swings quickly back to the orange.
But on the final play of the third quarter, Copeland drops one, and the Vols go to 0 for 9 on third down. Fifteen minutes to play, and one big play will turn it...
The Fourth Quarter
FSU's last two drives had started at the 16 and the 9. This one will start at the 1 after Leaverton's punt is covered by a host of Volunteers near the goaline. Outzen comes out throwing, still trying to get it to Warrick, still having no luck. On third down he goes for Warrick again, and again Steve Johnson comes through in great position with a great breakup. And now the Vols are really going to get good field position. Eric Parker runs it back to the FSU 35, and surely, surely...
A field goal would put you up 8 and keep you safe, and the Vols are in range. Randy Sanders goes for the throat on the first snap, Martin fires into double coverage for Price in the end zone, who still could've/should've caught it, but the ball is bobbled between the three of them, intercepted by Dexter Jackson, and returned out to the 25 (and perhaps more if he doesn't trip on his teammate's feet). And you still can't put any distance between us and them.
And now it's getting tense, as Outzen hits Duggans for 10 yards, and Minor runs for 20 more. FSU has the ball at the UT 38, 1st and 10, still trailing only 14-9. And then here's Minor again, making arguably his best run of the night, putting a stick on Deon Grant and picking up another first down. 1st and 10 at the 26, 13:00 to play.
If I'm a Florida State fan, I'm bemoaning what happens next to this day. Instead of going outside with Minor, which had been working, they go inside for no gain. Then they run almost the exact same play with the exact same result, and now it's 3rd and 10. Then they commit penalty number eleven on the day, false start, and it's 3rd and 15 and you're looking at a potential 48 yard field goal.
And then Darwin Walker takes over, dominating the offensive line and swallowing Marcus Outzen out of the play fake before he can even get turned around. It's a sack and might be the biggest defensive play of the game after Goodrich's pick. FSU had 1st and 10 at the 26, and is left with 4th and 26 at the 38 and punts into the end zone.
Cue Peter Warrick's tantrum on the sideline.
The biggest play of the season, if not in Tennessee Football history, comes quickly and without warning. The defense had just bailed you out and you're clinging to a five point lead and watching the clock tick. You run for one yard on first down and no gain on second. So it's 3rd and 9 at your own 21 yard line, with 9:30 to play. The mindset of everyone in orange is "hang on, just hang on, don't turn it over." The Vols have Peerless Price in single coverage to the right, with Copeland and Wilson to the left and backs in the I. FSU is expecting run and puts seven in the box and blitzes, but they won't get him this time. Martin simply drops back, steps up, and lets her fly.
Few Tennessee quarterbacks throw the type of deep ball that gives everyone time to say "oooh..." Peyton Manning throws a crisp deep ball that gets there too fast for you to think about it, while Casey Clausen and Erik Ainge to a lesser extent put more air under it. But no QB in recent Tennessee history threw a better teardrop than Tee Martin. When this ball comes flying out of his hands, you know there's big play potential. We're sitting in the upper deck and the ball is coming at us, and you look down and see #37, and it's already happened once, and you know you've got a chance here. And after all, who doesn't want to win the National Championship on a bomb, the most exciting play in college football?
Single coverage was a bad idea, and as they race side by side in front of the Tennessee bench, Peerless is going to win this one. He watches Edwards mistime his jump, hauls it in in perfect stride, and there's no catching him. 79 yards in a breath. And Tennessee has a two possession lead with 9:17 to play.The replay shots of this are great, as Price runs right by Fulmer and Al Wilson along the way.
The extra point is blocked, which is significant because the lead stays at 11, and a field goal remains a factor. But for Vol fans, the clock watching begins.
But that didn't last more than one play, when Shaun Ellis stripped Outzen and the ball is recovered by Billy Ratliff. In the last outing, in the SEC Championship, the Vols scored on a long pass to Peerless Price, then stripped Mississippi State QB Wayne Madkin on the first play from scrimmage. Destiny is working overtime.
It's at this point that Vol fans start mocking the FSU chop, and I'm thinking "Are you insane?! It's Florida State! There are eight minutes left!" My hands stayed at my side, and I regret it.
Travis Stephens brings his fresh legs into the mix and picks up a first down. The clock's still running. Tennessee centers the ball and brings on Jeff Hall with 6:00 to play, and the Vols lead 23-9. Six more minutes. I wasn't celebrating until it was done.
A short kick followed by a freshman mistake (personal foul on Teddy Gaines, special teams warrior and the next in line to receive the Steve Johnson treatement in the coming years), and FSU starts this drive at the 50. Which they start by fumbling the snap. He then scrambles and takes another beating from the Vol D, fumbling again but ruled down. Offsetting penalties lead to a completion to Duggans to the 7 yard line with 4:00 to play, and we're not done yet.
Outzen scrambles in for six two plays later - though replay shows he was down at like the two - but now it's back to one possession, 23-16 with 3:42 to play.
The Noles go the onside kick route, recover, but Janikowski was one biscuit for breakfast too big as the ball barely glances off him (nice on the ABC telecast when the referee has his mic on and calls illegal touch, and an FSU coach next to him clearly screams "bull$#!!") So now, first downs will win the game. Three more minutes. Three FSU timeouts.
And the Vols come out throwing! Martin hits Shawn Bryson for eight yards, and he does a great job of staying in bounds. They run Travis Henry and he's a yard shy. They run him again and he still can't get that yard. FSU takes their first timeout at 2:07, it's 4th and one and Fulmer must decide again. A 50 yard field goal would put you back up two possessions. Fulmer says go, and clearly FSU hasn't been paying attention. Same play they ran on the first snap of this drive, same play they scored on in the first quarter, same play we still run today: play action fake, there's the fullback, there's a Shawn Bryson first down. Time to celebrate right?
An unclean handoff from Martin to Henry and the ball comes tumbling out, and an very audible "OOOHHH!" from the Vol faithful, and the ball is back in Seminole hands. 1:29 to play. We can't make things easy on ourselves.
So, one more for the defense. Outzen goes shotgun and fires deep into double coverage, it's tipped by Deon Grant, and intercepted by, yes, you guessed it, Steve Johnson. As you can see, Outzen is having a bad day. Outzen will finish 9 of 22 with 2 INTs.
Technically, we still need one more first down. Martin rolls out and slides down, one timeout. Martin rolls the other way, final FSU timeout at 1:01, third and 9 coming up. Travis Stephens will run for 8 of those yards, and then FSU commits a facemask penalty. That's a first down. And that's ballgame.
I don't know what your reaction was. For me, in the stadium, watching the final seconds tick and having the realization slowly set in, it's indescribeable. After Tee Martin takes a knee, I turn to my dad and say, "Are you sure we're not still stuck at the airport?"
And then they put that graphic up on the JumboTron, that says "Tennessee Volunteers - National Champions."
Tennessee 23 - Florida State 16
Afterthoughts
It's just pure jubliation in the stands. You know this is rare. One of my Dad's friends come up to me and says "You're only 17 years old! I've been waiting my entire life for this, and you're only 17 years old!" Grown men are weeping - not crying, weeping. And they bring out that giant crystal football, and a much younger looking Phillip Fulmer hoists that thing up, and here come all the index fingers in the air. It's a repeated statement that, yes, in fact, we're number one. There's nothing left but celebration.
The Vol fans surround the ESPN GameDay set, inside Sun Devil Stadium, and these guys are afraid. Chris Fowler has said things he shouldn't have, the GameDay crew has avoided Knoxville, but now there's no running and no hiding. During commercial breaks, fans start launching beverages towards - and a few over - the net, and Lee Corso is really, really pissed about it. When one comes close, Vol fans chant "Thirsty! Thirsty! Thirsty!"
And somewhere, in a quiet corner of a locker room, John Ward finishes his career. Somewhere, Al Wilson is probably still furrowing his brow. But everyone wearing orange is living joy.
This is our story. The Vols will write others. Maybe they'll write one with a similar ending one day again. But we remember this one best. Tennessee. National Champions. Amen.
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