By Jimmy Hyams
Only Alabama has won more SEC football Championships than Tennessee.
And the Vols still rank among the top 15 in the nation in all-time wins.
But the decade of the 2010s has not been kind to the folks on Rocky Top.
We researched how UT has fared in each decade since 1960. UT had the fifth most wins among SEC schools in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
The Vols vaulted to No. 2 in the 1990s, behind only Florida.
Even though UT didn’t win an SEC title in the 2000s, it had the fifth most wins among SEC teams.
That has changed in the 2010s. Entering this season, UT was 12th among SEC teams in total wins (55-57) ahead of only Kentucky (50-63) and Vanderbilt (50-63). During that time, the Vols have had one winning record in SEC play, made just four bowl games, managed just two seasons of more than seven wins, and had three teams that won no more than one conference game.
How’s that for a drought?
It’s hard to believe that from 2010-2018, South Carolina had 19 more wins and Mississippi State 18 more wins than Tennessee. Ole Miss and Arkansas had one more win, for crying out loud.
Some observations: Alabama had 22 more wins in the last nine years than any other SEC team; South Carolina has more wins than Florida (thanks in large part to Steve Spurrier); Mississippi State also has more wins than Florida and Missouri is tied with Florida; I counted Ole Miss’ wins on the field and didn’t subtract vacated victories)
Here’s a look at each SEC team’s record the first nine years of this decade:
- Alabama 112-13
- LSU 90-30
- Georgia 88-34
- Auburn 78-41
- Texas A&M 76-41
- South Carolina 74-43
- Mississippi St. 73-44
- Florida 70-44
- Missouri 70-46
- Ole Miss 56-56
- Arkansas 56-57
- Tennessee 55-57
- Kentucky 50-63
- Vanderbilt 50-63
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