Vols’ Butch Jones trying to avoid a loss Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley never had at Tennessee
Blake Toppmeyer
Say what you will about the coaching tenures of Derek Dooley, Lane Kiffin and Butch Jones, but never while those coaches have shepherded Tennessee have the Vols lost to an opponent not in a power conference.
The Vols have won 26 straight games against opponents not hailing from the power conferences — the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12, the old Big East or Notre Dame.
Tennessee will put its streak on the line when it hosts Southern Miss (5-3) on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
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In the process, Tennessee will try to snap its four-game losing streak.
When UT last lost to non-power conference team
The Vols last lost to a team outside of the power conferences on Nov. 8, 2008, when Wyoming beat UT 13-7 on homecoming.
Saturday is the Vols’ homecoming this year.
That loss to Wyoming came amid Phillip Fulmer’s final season as coach. It already had been announced that Fulmer would not return the following season, though Fulmer coached the remainder of the games.
Since then, the Vols have had some close calls to teams outside the power conferences, including their 17-13 victory over Massachusetts on Sept. 23 of this season. Although Tennessee never trailed, the Vols also were left clinging to a four-point lead for the final 17:51.
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Other close calls included last year’s 20-13 win over Appalachian State, which Tennessee won in overtime, and a 32-29 double-overtime win over UAB in 2010, Dooley’s first season.
Within the SEC, only Auburn (73 games) and Texas A&M (30) have longer streaks over non-power conference opponents than Tennessee’s 26. Auburn hasn’t lost to a team outside of a power conference since a 10-9 defeat to Southern Miss on Oct. 5, 1991.
Alabama is next behind Tennessee, with 25. Its last loss to a non-power conference foe came in the 2009 Sugar Bowl to Utah, which is now in a power league, the Pac-12, but was then in the Mountain West.
Familiar stage for Southern Miss
Southern Miss is no stranger to SEC competition.
Saturday’s game will mark the Golden Eagles’ seventh against an SEC opponent during the past five seasons. Of those six previous matchups, USM won one time — a 44-35 triumph over Kentucky in last year’s season opener. The Golden Eagles gave the Wildcats a scare again this season but lost 24-17 to Kentucky in the season opener.
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“They present some real issues on both sides of the ball,” defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said of Southern Miss. “Our players are locked in.”
The Golden Eagles’ strength is a defense that ranks 27th nationally in total defense. They're also tied for ninth in red-zone defense. Southern Miss has been especially disruptive at the line of scrimmage. Its 62 tackles for loss are tied for 12th nationally.
“They make you earn every yard you get,” Jones said.