Editor’s note: This is the first story in a series reflecting on the 1998 University of Tennessee football team that finished 13-0 and won the BCS national championship.
Tennessee’s 1998 national championship season featured a series of memorable storylines and moments, all given elevated places of prominence in the program’s lore because of what they combined to create.
That perfect season and its tapestry of defining moments nearly came undone at the very beginning, though.
Syracuse, ranked No. 17 and led by future Big East offensive player of the decade Donovan McNabb, outgained the Volunteers inside a muggy Carrier Dome in a nationally televised season opener. Costly penalties against Syracuse and stellar red-zone defense helped the Vols escape 34-33 on senior kicker Jeff Hall’s game-winning field goal as time expired.
“It was a game where a lot of guys really stepped up and shined,” Hall said in a recent phone interview.