UNDEFEATED AND UNMATCHED: Remembering the 1998 National Champions

By Chris Low
ESPN senior writer

For Tennessee fans everywhere, the giant butte nestled up against venerable Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona will forever be aglow in a distinct shade of orange – Pantone 151.

On that memorable Jan. 4 evening 20 years ago, Tennessee's football team put a Big Orange exclamation mark on perfection, a 23-16 win over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl to cap a 13-0 season and the Vols' first national championship in 47 years.

As the celebration raged on the field, senior linebacker Al Wilson – the heart and soul of that team – hugged his teammates and coaches and then slowly made his way to the Tennessee locker room to be alone. A powder keg of emotion, Wilson wiped away tears of joy from his eyes and repeated quietly to himself what the legions of Vols' fans were echoing that night in the desert and all across the state of Tennessee.

Tennessee linebacker Al Wilson leads the team in prayer following the
1998 BCS National Championship Game victory over Florida State.

"I was in the locker room for 10 or 15 minutes by myself and went into the shower and thanked God for the four years he had given me at Tennessee and to finally make it to that peak in my last game," recalled Wilson, his voice still dripping with emotion all these years later.

"It was the best feeling in the world because I knew how hard we had worked to get there. Growing up and seeing the Big Orange all of my life and being able to give the fans something they could hold onto and say, 'Hey, we are the undefeated national champions,' man, that's why you play the game.

"That's why you come to Tennessee."

It was a magical season for the Vols, indeed, and the 20^th anniversary of that incredible ride to the crest of the college football world has stoked a cascade of memories from the players and coaches who brought the first national championship of the BCS era back to Good Ole Rocky Top.

Senior receiver Peerless Price, who torched the Seminoles with four catches for 199 yards in the Fiesta Bowl, played nine seasons in the NFL for three different teams. But he said that 1998 Tennessee team will always hold a special place in his heart, especially the way the players rallied around each other when the national narrative was that the Vols' window had closed with Peyton Manning and several other talented seniors leaving for the NFL.

"That was a perfect example of a team that said, 'Screw what the pundits say. Screw what the people think outside this locker room. If we do what we do and do it together, ain't nothing going to stop us but us,' " Price said. "That's what that team was about. That team was more about 'us' than any other team I played on before or after that.

"We played with a chip on our shoulder. I know we lost not only Peyton, but Leonard (Little), Marcus (Nash), Terry (Fair), guys that all went high in the NFL draft. But we were like, 'Wait a minute. We still have a hell of a lot of good players that helped get the program to where it is. We didn't just all of a sudden land here at the University of Tennessee.'

"The cupboard wasn't bare, not even close. It was our time."

Tennessee, which wasn't even picked to win the SEC's Eastern Division, beat eight bowl teams that season and four nationally ranked teams away from home. For perspective, the last two national champions, Alabama in 2017 and Clemson in 2016, each beat three nationally ranked foes away from home. And it was a team that showcased the Vols' wide recruiting reach under head coach Phillip Fulmer and a staff that had mostly been intact since Fulmer was promoted to full-time head coach in 1993.

There were players from 12 different states in the starting rotation – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. In fact, 11 of the starters were from either Georgia or the Carolinas.

"That team had great toughness and a great bond," said Fulmer, now Tennessee's athletic director. "Spring practice can always be deceiving, but I didn't know if we were going to make a first down. I promise you, it was that hard at times going against our defense. But they went after each other and made each other better. There were plenty of fights on the practice field. But when they left the practice field, they were best friends. It was a team that enjoyed being around each other. There weren't any cliques, just a bunch of guys who trusted each other and believed in each other."

55227 — *Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin in Vols' win over Alabama.*

Quarterback Tee Martin, who had patiently waited his turn behind Manning, knew in the offseason that something special was brewing.

"You read the articles and heard the noise, and it wasn't just about Peyton leaving," Martin said. "We were tired of hearing about these other teams and were ready to get over the hump. We tasted it the year before with the SEC championship, but wanted even more. A lot of us had played, but we hadn't had our moment. We were going to have our moment as a team … and we did."

Fulmer only stoked the flames during preseason camp that August when he very calculatedly told the team that it was an 8-4 football team "at best" on the heels of some ragged practices, particularly on offense.

Looking back 20 years later, Fred White jokes that what ensued in the team meeting room that day was a near-riot, although he said none of the players were laughing at the time. Rather, they were ready to knock down the walls, and leading the charge was the fiery Wilson.

"Al stood up and said, 'Nah, coach, players only and the coaches can get out of the room,' and he didn't say it nicely," recalled White, a junior safety on the team. "I still get goose bumps when I think about Al's message that day. He said, 'Look around you. You play for the man sitting right beside you first and your family second. Yes, you play for the University of Tennessee, our fans and our coaches, but ultimately, you play for each other.'

"I mean, it got intense. You had some of the other captains, Shawn Bryson and Mercedes Hamilton, standing there at the door so nobody but players could come in, and we went out and had our best practice. Coach Fulmer knew what he was doing, and if you were playing on that football team, it's something you will never forget."

And a precursor to a season Tennessee fans will never forget.

It was a team built around a menacing defense. John Chavis' unit held 10 of its 13 opponents under 20 points that season, including seven of the nine SEC foes the Vols faced. And if you throw out garbage touchdowns late in games, Tennessee's first-team defense allowed just eight touchdowns in nine SEC contests. Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt failed to score any touchdowns against Tennessee's first-team defense. Moreover, in the last four games of the season, the first-team defense allowed a total of three touchdowns.

"That's the blueprint for winning football games and for winning championships," said Wilson, who was selected to five Pro Bowls while playing in the NFL for the Denver Broncos. "We were going to make you pay for anything and everything you got against our defense and make you hurt, too."

Defense might have been the backbone of that team, but Martin's unflappable nature in replacing a legend in Manning epitomized the 1998 Vols. That and his penchant for making clutch plays – be it his 55-yard scramble on third-and-10 in the fourth quarter against Syracuse, his 14-yard scramble on third-and-long in overtime to set up Jeff Hall's winning field goal against Florida, his two late touchdown passes against Mississippi State to rally the Vols in the SEC championship game or his 79-yard touchdown strike to Price in the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl to take the wind out of the Seminoles.

55226 — Peerless Price 79-yard touchdown catch in the fourth
quarter of UT's win over Florida State in the 1998
BCS National Championship Game.

"Peyton was Peyton, and he was great at what he did and his career speaks for itself and what he did for the program and all that," Martin said. "But we were different, physically different and mentally different. So for me to come in and try to be him wasn't the way to do it.

"It was a blow to lose Jamal (Lewis) for the season in that Auburn game, but it forced a little bit more onto my plate. I had been wanting more, but what can I say? Jamal Lewis was the best running back in the country and a first-round pick and carrying the load. But I felt I was ready, and when he did go down, we started spreading it around a little bit more and using other weapons. It opened up the passing game and allowed us to be more explosive the second half of the season."

Even early on that season when Martin struggled some with his passing accuracy, Wilson said the Vols' junior quarterback never flinched.

"What I loved about Tee was that as he started to progress, he let the offense take care of itself, managed the game well, made the throws when he needed to make them, made the runs when he needed to make them and then turned around and got that ball to Jamal Lewis and Travis Henry and let them do their thing," Wilson said. "Once he started to trust the offense and trust the process, it was just a matter of time before he went out and made game-winning plays, which he did."

The unforgettable memories from that season flow to this day for Tennessee fans, starting with the very first game, a heart-stopping 34-33 win in the Carrier Dome over Donovan McNabb and a Syracuse team loaded with future NFL talent.

A bang-bang pass interference call on fourth-and-7 from the Tennessee 35-yard line with 1:48 to play kept alive the Vols' game-winning drive and to this day infuriates Syracuse fans. Initially, no flag was thrown in what seemed like an eternity on the Tennessee sideline. But, finally, one came sailing in from back judge Lee Dyer, who just happened to live in Chattanooga.

"The closest official to the play didn't see it. He said he was blocked and couldn't see it," Fulmer said. "But it was pass interference, no question. Cedrick Wilson clearly was hit before the ball got there."

After the 1998 season, Fulmer said he sent Dyer an autographed national championship football, but not because Fulmer felt like the Vols received any special favors.

"I just wanted him to know that he absolutely made the right call," Fulmer said.

Asked if he ever heard back from Dyer, Fulmer smiled, "No, but I didn't expect to."

Two weeks later, it was on to Florida, which had beaten Tennessee five straight years, most of those top-10 matchups. Despite the Gators' mastery in the series, Wilson was convinced that it was going to be different this time.

"We always have a team meeting before the Vol Walk and I came over to the facility early to watch some extra film that day," Wilson recalled. "I then went into the team room and sat down. I was the only guy in there, and from that day forward, I've never felt a peace before a game that I felt that particular game. I remember falling asleep in the team room by myself, and my high school coach walked in and woke me up.

"I'd never been so relaxed before a game in my life and went out and had one of my best games, if not my best game, as a Vol. I just knew some kind of way that we were going to pull that game out."

Wilson was a one-man wrecking crew with three forced fumbles, and Tennessee won 20-17 in overtime, setting off a wild celebration that saw both goal posts in Neyland Stadium ripped down within minutes.

"No-sir-eeeeee. No-sir-eeeeee," repeated Price, re-creating John Ward's famous call when Florida kicker Cooper Collins' 32-yard field goal sailed wide left. "If I could go back and re-live one moment from that season, it would be that moment."

And as the legendary Ward – who passed away in June at the age of 88 – so appropriately bellowed that night on the Vol Network, pandemonium did indeed reign.

"It was total chaos," said senior kicker and captain Jeff Hall, who made his field goal in overtime to give the Vols the lead. "Fans were everywhere on the field, and I remember (holder) Benson Scott picking me up and hugging me. And then you look around, and the goal posts are gone just like that."

55229 — *Jeff Hall field goal in overtime victory against rival Florida.*

But not before Hall was able to score a keepsake.

"The next day, I'd come home from church and got a call from Benson and (deep snapper) Kevin Gregory, and they had gotten linked up with somebody that morning that had a hacksaw and started chopping up the goal post into pieces," Hall recounted. "I think the fans were going to dump it into the Tennessee River or something. So I went down there and got one of those pieces, and sitting proudly in my office at home now is about an 18-inch long white piece of the goal post from the south end zone.

"There were a lot of defining games that season, but none any more so than that game."

It's also a game that finally got Tennessee over the dreaded Florida hump.

"I lost five games in college, and three of them were to Florida," Wilson huffed. "I mean, come on. We were sick of losing to them and sick of hearing about everything that (Steve) Spurrier said. We knew after we won that game that the ball was in our court. And, now, when you look back, if we don't lose to Florida those previous three years, then we win three or four SEC championships and possibly a couple of national championships."

It was right after the Florida game that the famed "synergy stick" appeared on the scene and became sacred for the Vols that season. It was a walking stick that one of Fulmer's friends, Tom Ogle, had carved for him and delivered to Fulmer one day as the Vols' coach was walking to practice.

"I'm showing the kids this stick and asked them what they thought of it, and they said, 'Coach, you look like Moses,' and they all started laughing," Fulmer recalled. "I had one of the managers take it back in, but got to thinking later that night, 'You know, Moses led the people to the Promised Land.' "

So that next day, Fulmer had all of the players sit in a circle with the seniors up front and made a bold proclamation.

"I told them, 'You guys were having some fun with me and this stick and calling me Moses, but Moses led the people to the Promised Land and I'm telling you that If you'll listen to us, we're going to win all of our games and win the national championship,' " Fulmer recounted. "Now, I remember at the time thinking how corny that sounded, but it was an electric moment. I told Al to take it and pass it around to the other leaders on the team and that it was going to be our synergy stick, the center of our energy."

The players were under strict orders not to tell anybody about it, including their parents, girlfriends and especially the media.

"It ended up being on the field all the time with us and was the first thing on the bus, the first thing off the airplane, and nobody ever told anybody anything about it until after the national championship," Fulmer said. "It symbolized our commitment to each other."

The first week of October saw Tennessee lose its most explosive offensive weapon when Lewis went down with a knee injury, but the two Travises (Travis Henry and Travis Stephens) stepped in at running back, and the Vols never skipped a beat.

"That just shows the kind of talent we had on that team, but a lot of it nobody else knew about," said Billy Ratliff, a junior defensive tackle for the 1998 Vols. "But we knew on defense because we had to tackle those guys every day in practice. I mean, tackling Travis Henry was like trying to tackle a bowling ball."

The Vols' players might have touted themselves that season as a team of "no stars," but the reality is that they were oozing with talent. There were 26 players who played during the 1998 season that would go on to be selected in the NFL draft, including nine of the 11 defensive starters and both the place-kicker, Hall, and punter, David Leaverton. Of those 26 draftees, 15 were taken in the top three rounds. And that's not even counting guys like receiver Eric Parker and fullback Phillip Crosby, who weren't drafted but played for multiple seasons in the NFL, and receiver Jermaine Copeland, who played 11 seasons in the CFL.

"The other thing that gets lost about that team is how unselfish guys were," Fulmer said. "Shawn Bryson was one of the fastest guys we had, but sacrificed for the team and went to fullback. You're talking about a guy who played eight years in the NFL, most of them as a tailback. That was the essence of that team."

The number of big defensive plays made by the Vols that season was endless, whether it was Wilson ripping the ball away from Florida's Terry Jackson on the goal line, Raynoch Thompson burying Auburn's Tellie Embery for a 1-yard loss on fourth down from the one-foot line, Shaun Ellis intercepting a shovel pass against Auburn and lumbering 90 yards for a touchdown or Dwayne Goodrich stepping in front of Florida State star receiver Peter Warrick in the Fiesta Bowl and returning an interception 54 yards for a touchdown.

"You could go on and on," said Wilson, who missed that Auburn game with an injury. "We had so many guys come through on defense, but I've never seen a guy throw his body around the way Raynoch Thompson did. He wasn't much more than 200 pounds. But he was also 6-3, so he had some leverage when he was coming. I've always said that I thought he was the defensive MVP of that team the way he would give up his body to make a play. His nose would be all bloodied, but he was fearless. Ray was one tough son of a gun."

If Thompson was the defensive MVP that season, Ratliff had the play that saved the season. Without his play for the ages against Arkansas in Game No. 9, there would have been no national championship. The Vols (8-0) had just climbed to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first time in 42 seasons that week. The Hogs were also 8-0 and ranked 10^th nationally.

But after a fourth-down pass attempt from Martin sailed incomplete with just under two minutes left and Arkansas leading 24-22, Neyland Stadium might as well have been a morgue. Martin, his head down, trudged to the sideline and started to take off his helmet as Tennessee fans began flocking toward the exits.

Ratliff looked at a dejected Martin and barked, "It ain't over yet. Keep your helmet on, Tee. We're about to get this ball back."

The hard-luck Ratliff had been beset with injuries his entire career, and 1998 was the only season he was able to stay healthy. Not only that, but he admittedly had been getting manhandled that game by Arkansas offensive guard Brandon Burlsworth.

"He was a monster and had no cracks," Ratliff said of Burslworth, who sadly died a year later in a car wreck after being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. "I never played against anybody as good. The only other person was my teammate, Cosey Coleman. And that game, Brandon was kicking my butt. I couldn't do anything with him."

But on second down and the Vols needing a miracle, Ratliff was able to jump the snap and explode into Burlsworth just enough for him to back up and step on Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner's foot. Stoerner, who was rolling out on the play, stumbled and tried to brace himself by placing the ball on the ground, but it squirted free. Ratliff was there to recover at the Arkansas 43-yard line with 1:43 remaining.

55224 — Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner fumbles late in
the fourth quarter in a 28-24 loss to Tennessee.

Five bruising Henry runs later, the Vols had escaped with an improbable 28-24 win.

Martin and several of the Tennessee offensive linemen looked at Henry in the huddle before that game-winning drive and said, "Take us to the promised land." One of those offensive linemen, junior guard Spencer Riley, can still remember the play calls as Henry finished off a 197-yard rushing night.

"We ran 6 gap one way and turned around and ran 7 gap the other way, and we ran it until we scored," said Riley, now the head football coach at Jefferson County High School. "When they fumbled, they just crumbled. We got in the huddle and said, 'Hey, it's time to finish this deal off and live to see another day.'

"That was our game on offense – pound out the running game and hit you with play action. That's what we did. Everybody knew it, but it was hard to stop."

Ratliff, who now lives in Chattanooga, still isn't sure how he got the best of Burlsworth on that one play.
"I just told myself that I was going to jump this snap so fast and drive this man through the goal post," Ratliff said. "They snapped the ball. I pushed him in his chest as hard as I could. Clint tripped over his foot, and the miracle happened. All I remember is the ball sitting there on the ground. It was like it was in slow motion and sitting there forever. I jumped on it, went to the sideline and got some oxygen."

Wilson had suffered a groin injury a few series earlier and was on the sideline for the play, but he can still hear the roar of the Neyland Stadium crowd after Ratliff pounced on the fumble.

"It's one of the biggest plays in Tennessee football history," Wilson said. "I can still feel the stadium shaking, just an unbelievable feeling."

After Burlsworth's tragic death following that next season, Ratliff attended the funeral and has made sure to tell his kids about the former Hogs' All-American, who started his career as a walk-on and was the subject of the motion picture "Greater."

"I can still see him across from me with those glasses," Ratliff said. "Just a great player and a great inspiration."

The Vols didn't need any inspiration the rest of that season. They could taste the national title, and after a scare against Mississippi State in the SEC championship game, all that remained was a date with Florida State in the desert.

There was a little bit of a snag for the Vols, too. Offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe had been named the Ole Miss head coach right after the SEC championship game and left to coach the Rebels in their bowl game. That meant his replacement, running backs coach Randy Sanders, would make his debut as Tennessee's play-caller with a national championship at stake.

"The Florida State defensive backs had been talking crap all week and they were talking about Mario Edwards like he was Deion Sanders," Price said. "I remember Coach Sanders telling us that we were going to go after them. If they're going to attack, we're going to attack. Coach Sanders called a great game that night. He wasn't scared."

And neither were the Tennessee defensive backs of Warrick, who finished with just one catch for 7 yards. Goodrich shut him down in the first half, but injured his ankle. Steve Johnson slid over in the second half and finished the job.

Of course, the most famous tackle of Warrick that night didn't come from a Tennessee defender, but from the Tennessee punter – Leaverton. Warrick, one of the most electrifying players in the college game that season, took off on a 50-yard return with Tennessee defenders grabbing for air. The only thing that stood between Warrick and the Vols' goal line was Leaverton, who didn't just tackle Warrick, but tattooed him.

"Here's the most feared punt returner in America bearing down on me, and if you watch the tape, he even has a blocker out in front that just runs by me," Leaverton remembered. "I knew I would have just one shot at him, so I ran right at him as opposed to trying to back up like you see most kickers do in that situation. I lowered my head, and I don't know if he thought I was invisible or not, but we just clobbered each other.

"He moved for 10 other guys, but didn't move for me. If we did it 10 more times, he would score every other time. But I got him when it counted."

After Johnson's interception on FSU's last-gasp throw down the field, all that remained was for Martin to kneel the ball down a few times in what was the sweetest Victory Formation in Tennessee football history.

"I remember somebody handing me a bag of those Tostitos chips, but my best memory with five seconds left, 30 seconds left or whatever was that I felt my dad," Fulmer said softly. "I felt the presence of my late father there with me on the field with all of the lights flashing and people there. It was special to be able to bring my state and my school a national championship and even more special to have my dad there with me."

Fulmer, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012, looks back on that period with immense pride. Tennessee was 45-5 from 1995-98 with two SEC titles and one national title. But like most fierce competitors, Fulmer also can't help but think about what might have been.

"You look back, and it's always shoulda, woulda, coulda, but we could have easily played for three or four championships during that stretch," Fulmer said. "If we had the playoff then, we would have been in it three or four other times, but so would have Florida."

White, who lives in Atlanta and still keeps in touch with many of his teammates, said the chemistry on that 1998 team was something to behold, not to mention the way everybody pushed each other and challenged each other. He said the continuity on the coaching staff was equally crucial and that the Vols' late strength and conditioning coach, John Stucky, was the glue.

"After losing to Nebraska the year before in the Orange Bowl, the team started working out at 6:30 in the morning on our own, and I mean everybody," White said. "It wasn't just us. We had a great staff, and I don't think we win that national championship without Coach Stucky. He knew how to motivate us and motivated each player in a different way. We loved him, and to this day when we get together, we still say, 'Stucky Strong.'

"It's hard to believe it's been 20 years, but we're all as close as we ever were, and we'll always be there for each other. It's a season that will live forever."

And a season, in the immortal words of the beloved John Ward, that the national champion was "Clad in Big Orange."

University of Tennessee Athletics

UNDEFEATED AND UNMATCHED: Remembering the 1998 National Champions

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