Tennessee football is back at Neyland Stadium Saturday after a two week hiatus and for its only home game in the month of October. The matchup against Arkansas is a key game for the 2025 Vols College Football Playoff and SEC Championship hopes.
But the game is also a chance for Tennessee to honor a number of past championship teams as part of its annual Champions Weekend. The Vols will honor past SEC and national championship teams in all sports this weekend. Included in that group is the 1985 and 1990 SEC Football Championship teams.
It’s the 40th anniversary of the 1985 SEC Championship team, one of the most popular in program history. Led by head coach Johnny Majors, Tennessee went 9-1-2 with its lone loss coming at Florida and tying non conference games against UCLA and Georgia Tech.
Tennessee knocked off eventually Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson and No. 1 Auburn early in the season. The Vols overcame an injury to quarterback Tony Robinson to knock off Alabama on the Third Saturday of October before going 7-0-1 to end the season.
It was Tennessee football’s first SEC Championship in 16 years and helped set the stage for the success of next two decades. But the 1985 Vols went into program lore and earned the nickname “Sugar Vols” after upsetting No. 2 Miami 35-7 in the Sugar Bowl.
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All-SEC linebacker Dale Jones joined the RTI Low Down Podcast this week to discuss the 1985 season ahead of his return to Neyland Stadium Saturday afternoon.
It’s the 35-year anniversary of the 1990 SEC Championship team. Tennessee went 9-2-2 that season, beginning the year with a tie against eventual national champion Colorado. In SEC play, Tennessee tied at No. 3 Auburn in late September and fell to rival Alabama 9-6. The Vols’ second loss came against then-No. 1 Notre Dame in South Bend.
Tennessee earned top 15 regular season wins over Florida and Ole Miss while taking care of SEC foes Mississippi State, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The Vols earned a bid to the Sugar Bowl and came from behind to defeat Virginia 23-22.
The Vols are also honoring former head coach Doug Dickey during the Arkansas game. Dickey was Tennessee’s head coach from 1964-69 when he led the Vols to a 46-15-4 record and a share of the 1967 National Championship. The Vols went 9-2 in the 1967 season, dropping their opener to UCLA 20-16 before reeling off nine straight wins to the regular season. Tennessee then fell to Oklahoma 26-24 in the Orange Bowl to end the season.
Kickoff between Tennessee and Arkansas is at 4:15 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon. Dave Neal, Fozzy Whittaker and Morgan Uber are on the call for the SEC Network.
