No Vols on College Football Hall of Fame ballot, just foes

Mike Strange | Knoxville

Peyton Manning became the 20th Tennessee player inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December. There won’t be a 21st, not in 2018.

The 2018 ballot was released last week with 75 player nominations and six coaches. Charles Woodson, forever linked to Manning in the 1997 Heisman Trophy race, is among the new candidates. Hold your applause.

UT's 20 inductees ties Alabama for the most in the SEC. With 1970s stars Larry Seivers and Jackie Walker falling off this time, there isn’t a former Vol on the 2018 ballot.

There is, however, a stellar roster of athletes who played against the Vols. Here are 10 of them, plus a bonus coach. Several are new to the ballot; others are holdovers.

Tim Couch: The Kentucky native turned down the Vols to play for the home-state Wildcats. Couch did make the UT record book, though. His 476 passing yards in 1997 is the most ever by an opposing quarterback.

Raghib Ismail: The “Rocket” lived up to his name in one of the best games I ever covered, Notre Dame’s 34-29 win at Neyland Stadium in 1990. The No. 9 Vols trailed No. 1 Notre Dame 27-23 when Ismail took a pitch, turned the corner on the East sideline and sprinted 44 yards for a score with 3:33 to play.

I was in the elevator from the press box headed to the sideline, but we could hear the roar/groan from the crowd. Not knowing what happened, we stepped out of the elevator to see fans headed to the exits with the Vols suddenly trailing 34-23. Too bad, they missed a thriller of a finish.

Eric Crouch: Crouch did a lot of handing off to Nebraska backs in a 31-14 Cornhuskers win in the Fiesta Bowl after the ’99 season. When the Vols cut it to 17-14, Crouch led a 96-yard drive that he capped with a touchdown pass, and Tennessee’s momentum was crushed.

Kerry Collins: Heath Shuler’s final game at UT was a bummer, a 31-13 Penn State win in the Citrus Bowl after the 1993 season. The Vols trailed 17-14 only to see Collins throw a touchdown pass to Kyle Brady in the third quarter and Bobby Engram in the fourth.

Jason Hanson: One of college football’s great kickers had a busy day at Neyland Stadium in 1988 as a freshman – seven extra points and a field goal as Washington State embarrassed the Vols 52-24. The loss dropped Tennessee to 0-5, after which coach Johnny Majors fired defensive coordinator Ken Donahue.

Aaron Taylor: The 1997 Outland Trophy winner was a Nebraska offensive lineman who helped plow the way for 409 rushing yards in the Cornhuskers’ 42-17 Orange Bowl win, Manning’s final game.

Ernie Jennings: The Air Force receiver led the nation with 17 touchdown receptions in 1970. He didn’t have much luck against the Vols in the Sugar Bowl. Jennings made only two catches in a 34-13 UT romp. Vols defenders caught four Falcons passes, running their season interception total to 40.

Cade McNown: UCLA’s McNown passed for 400 yards against UT in Pasadena in 1997. But he probably remembers getting sacked for a safety and throwing a pick-six – a 57-yard return by Cory Gaines – in a 30-24 Tennessee win.

Shawn Moore: Hard to fathom UT hasn't been to the Sugar Bowl since Jan. 1, 1991. Virginia was up 16-3 and driving for the kill late in the third quarter when quarterback Moore underthrew a pass that Floyd Miley intercepted. The Vols drove 94 yards to begin a comeback that produced a white-knuckle 23-22 win. Moore, playing with a bad thumb, passed for only 62 yards.

Patrick Willis: The Vols won both times they played Willis and Ole Miss but realized they made a mistake in not recruiting the West Tennessee linebacker hard enough. He showed them why in 2005, making 14 tackles in a 27-10 UT win.

Frank Beamer: The Vols played the coach who put Virginia Tech football on the map twice. A 45-23 Gator Bowl win in 1994 capped Manning’s freshman season. The most memorable thing about the game was it played in Gainesville instead of Jacksonville, a rare UT win in The Swamp. Beamer evened the score, sending Lane Kiffin out with a thumping in the 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl

Reach Mike Strange at mike.strange@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @Strangemike44.