1998 Tennessee Volunteers football team The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1998 NCAA Division I - A football season . Tennessee entered the 1998 season coming off an 11 – 2 record ( 7 – 1 SEC ) in 1997 . The Volunteers were given a preseason ranking of # 10 in the AP Poll . The Vols won their sixth national title after defeating Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl , the first BCS National Championship Game . The ' 98 Vols beat eight bowl teams , including six January bowl teams , four top ten teams , and three BCS bowl - bound teams . The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers are ranked as the # 3 college football team of all time by the Billingsley Report computer ratings . Tennessee was expected to have a slight fall off after their conference championship the previous season . They had lost quarterback Peyton Manning , wide receiver Marcus Nash , and linebacker Leonard Little to the NFL . Manning was the first pick overall in the 1998 NFL Draft . Tennessee was also coming off a difficult 42 – 17 loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl , and were in the midst of a five game losing streak to the rival Florida Gators . Nonetheless , the Volunteers ended their season in Tempe , undefeated , becoming only the fourth school in modern college football history to complete a 13 – 0 season . Preseason . The Volunteers were picked by the media as a preseason second place in the SEC ' s Eastern Division at SEC Media Days ( behind Florida ) . The 1998 season marked the first year that the NCAA introduced the Bowl Championship Series to determine a national champion for Division I - A football . Tennessee was led by future NFL players Al Wilson , Raynoch Thompson , Jamal Lewis , Peerless Price , Cedrick Wilson , David Martin , Shaun Ellis , Tee Martin , Travis Henry , Travis Stephens , Dwayne Goodrich , Shawn Bryson , Darwin Walker , Eric Westmoreland , Chad Clifton and Deon Grant and CFL All - Star Jeremaine Copeland . Game notes . Syracuse . K Jeff Hall hit a 27 Yard field goal as time expired to give the Vols a key road win . This was the second game winning kick of Hall ' s career ( Georgia 1995 ) . In his first game as a starter QB Tee Martin went only 9 - of - 26 for 143 yards , but led the Vols into field goal range for the final kick . HB Jamal Lewis led the Vols with 140 yards rushing and a touchdown . WR Peerless Price had two touchdown receptions . QB Donovan McNabb gave the Volunteer defense fits , putting up 300 yards with a 22 - for - 28 day Florida . Tennessee broke a 5 game losing streak against the Gators . Florida K Collins Cooper missed a FG in overtime and set off a wild celebration at Neyland Stadium that saw the goalposts and CBS cameras disappear . The Vols won despite racking up only 235 yards of total offense . The difference was turnovers . The Florida Gators lost 4 fumbles , 2 caused by hits by Al Wilson . K Jeff Hall made his field goal in the first overtime , setting the stage for the Florida miss and the Vols win . The Vols also held the Gators to −13 net rushing on 30 attempts . FB Shawn Bryson scored on a 57 yard run . Houston . Junior QB Tee Martin had his coming - out party against the Houston Cougars , throwing for 4 touchdowns and 234 yards en route to the Vols win . Jamal Lewis added 135 yards rushing and 1 touchdown , leading the Vols to 334 rushing yards and 589 total yards . The Vols defense held Houston to 239 total yards and recorded 3 sacks with 8 tackles for loss . Auburn . The Vols jumped out to an early lead behind the running of Jamal Lewis . However , following a season ending ACL injury , Lewis left the game and the Tennessee Defense held on for the 17 – 9 win . In a rematch of the high scoring 1997 SEC Championship Game , the Defense needed a score by DE Shaun Ellis and a 4 play goal line stand from inside the 1 yard line to secure the win . They did so without senior captain Al Wilson , who missed the game with a shoulder injury . Georgia . Tennessee entered their 3rd game in the 1998 SEC season as underdogs . However , behind the running of substitute HB ' s Travis Henry and Travis Stephens , and a strong defensive effort , the Vols dominated the Bulldogs . Georgia was limited to only 254 total yards and the Vols defense held their opponent without a touchdown for the second straight game . Alabama . The Vols pushed their winning streak over Alabama to 4 games with a 35 – 18 victory . The win gave Tennessee a 6 – 0 record for the first time since 1969 , and also extended a streak for the Vols in the Third Saturday in October rivalry game . This time , the Vols Offense relied on Travis Henry who rushed for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns . The play that broke the game open for the Vols was a 100 yard kickoff return by Peerless Price in the 3rd quarter that answered an Alabama touchdown and two point conversion . South Carolina . Tee Martin set an NCAA record for consecutive completions with 24 , leading the Vols to a 49 – 14 victory . Martin completed his first 23 passes ( with one from the previous game ) to set the record . He also recorded his first 300 yard passing game by going 23 - for - 24 for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns . The Vol Defense held South Carolina scoreless until the 4th quarter , when they had a 42 – 0 lead . UAB . Tennessee took care of the Blazers to win their homecoming contest and move their record to 8 – 0 . It was their first 8 – 0 start since 1956 . The Vols racked up 447 total yards , led by the rushing of Travis Henry and the passing of Tee Martin . WR Peerless Price also added 103 yards receiving . Arkansas . Tennessee fell behind 21 – 3 in the first half , but capped off a season - saving comeback with a Travis Henry touchdown run in the final seconds . Henry had 197 yards rushing and the deciding touchdown . The key play of the game and possibly the season occurred in the 4th quarter . Arkansas was nursing a 24 – 22 lead late in the game and was attempting to run out the clock . DT Billy Ratliff pushed Arkansas G Brandon Burlsworth into QB Clint Stoerner , causing him to stumble and fumble . Ratliff recovered the ball and allowed Tennessee the chance to drive the field and score the game winning touchdown . Kentucky . Kentucky struggled after one of their players died and another was injured in an automobile accident early that week , as Tennessee picked up an easy 59 – 21 win . This game marked the end of the Battle of the Beer Barrel , due to the alcohol - related death that week . Kentucky QB Tim Couch passed for 337 yards and 2 TD ' s , but Kentucky never threatened after the 1st quarter Vanderbilt . The Vols clinched their second consecutive SEC East Division title with a win in Nashville . Tennessee dominated once again , holding the Commodores scoreless and limiting them to 174 total yards . Tee Martin had 241 yards passing and 1 TD , while Travis Henry led the team in rushing with 136 yards and a touchdown . Peerless Price added 181 yards receiving and a touchdown . SEC Championship Game : Mississippi State . Tennessee won its second SEC title , in a defensive struggle . The vols were held to 249 total yards and scored 3 TD ' s . They were down late in the 4th quarter 14 – 10 , but scored two touchdowns within 32 seconds of each other on passes by Tee Martin . This win secured a berth into the National Championship game for the Vols . Fiesta Bowl : Florida State . Tennessee won its first consensus National Championship since 1951 and the first ever BCS title game by defeating the Seminoles 23 – 16 . The second ranked Seminoles were favored and boasted superstar WR Peter Warrick . The Vols limited Warrick to 1 catch for 7 yards and scored on long passes to Peerless Price and an interception return by CB Dwayne Goodrich , who was the defensive MVP of the game . Price had 199 yards receiving on 4 catches and scored the deciding TD in the 4th quarter . LB Al Wilson led the defense with 9 tackles .