Auburn cost Tennessee a possible national championship in 1970. The Vols were out for revenge. They’d waited a year for the game. Auburn trailed for most of it. Pat Sullivan struggled for most of it…. most of it.
The Vols did not get revenge. 10-9.
We have coaches film for the first three quarters, then the ABC broadcast with its amazing commercials for cigars and Skin Bracer, and lingering shots of cheerleaders (which we’ve turned into a separate post, just for kicks and herkies) takes over for the fourth quarter. Pretty sure that’s a Tennessee fan cussing into camera or something at the end.
Man… what an unsung badass Dick Schmalz was; his back-to-back identical receptions on Sullivan’s last, Heisman-worthy drive are as clutch as they come. And man… what a permissive era it was for piling on, late hits, etc. Take the last play for example, which we’ve Vine’d for illustrative convenience.
“Ball hawking.”
You can watch the gender-bending 1970 game here, and the Amazin’ 1972 game here.
Video courtesy of Allen Spain.
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