September westwords about the forthcoming 40th anniversary celebration of Tennessee’s 1985 Sugar Vols attracted unusual interest from readers.
Thank you.
There were more e-mail responses than usual. Of the several questions, six were strangely similar. How could Miami have been held to seven points? What else do you know about that Sugar Bowl? Is there a story behind that story?
Glad you asked.
The second-ranked Hurricanes were their own worst enemy. They counted the national championship among their accomplishments as soon as they heard Tennessee was the final foe.
Never, in my memory, has a team been more overconfident. There was some justification. It had more talent – a future Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback and an assortment of soon-to-be professionals.
***
Vol success of 1985 was rooted in late December 1984. John Majors had a staff vacancy, defensive line coach. He asked running back coach Doug Mathews what he thought of the idea of trying to get Ken Donahue.
“Take a little of my salary if you need it,” said Mathews.
Donahue had played at Tennessee under Robert R. Neyland. He had been Bear Bryant’s defensive coordinator. He had a handful of national championship rings from 20 years with the Crimson Tide. Few assistant coaches were more respected.
When Bryant retired, Alabama’s new coach, Ray Perkins, wanted his own defensive leader. Perkins dismissed Donahue.
When Majors called, Donahue said yes, he’d like to come home. He grew up in Corryton.
***
A year later, Donahue was the decisive factor in the Sugar Bowl. He had a month to prepare. He wore out a movie projector, forward and reverse, forward and reverse, looking at every Miami offensive play time after time, in great detail.
Mathews got outside help from Oklahoma. He had connections. Sooner assistant coach Bobby Proctor had been Doug’s coach at Vanderbilt. Proctor had played for ex-Vol Bowden Wyatt at Arkansas. Proctor was on Wyatt’s staff at Tennessee.
Yes, Bobby Proctor would help the Volunteers.
Miami had defeated Oklahoma that October but all the scouting and planning Sooner coaches had done in preparation for that game was suddenly available to Tennessee.
What the Hurricanes did was not complicated. Coach Jimmy Johnson relied on superior athletes doing their job. Donahue did find strong tendencies in the basic formations and alignments.
The winning edge might have been the discovery that Miami’s center was tipping plays. If the Hurricanes were going to pass, his starting position was flat-footed, the better to drop back and protect the quarterback.
If Miami was going to run, the center’s heel would be off the turf, weight on his toes, eager for a head start forward.
Vol linebacker Dale Jones was the assigned analyst. He was to read the clues and spread the word. If Dale saw a run was coming, he would call out to the defense any animal that ran – horse, rabbit, dog or cat.
If Dale saw that a pass was the plan, his signal call was any bird that flew. He preferred eagles, quail, ducks and doves.
What the linebacker saw and said (yelled) determined whether the Tennessee defense clogged running lanes or blitzed with reckless abandon. The net result was seven sacks, enormous pressure, four interceptions, two fumbles and 32 net yards rushing.
I don’t believe Miami quarterback Vinnie Testaverde ever caught on. From what I heard, he and the coaches thought Tennessee had the luckiest defense in the college football world.
It had Donahue. It was smart, very smart. And lucky. The Miami center didn’t get injured.
***
Tennessee scored 35 points on offense. Daryl Dickey threw a six-yard TD pass to Jeff Smith. Tim McGee recovered Tennessee’s lone fumble in the end zone. Sam Henderson scored on a one-yard run.
Jeff Powell broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and sped 60 yards for a touchdown. Charles Wilson scored on a six-yard run. Carlos Reveiz kicked five extra points.
***
The somewhat older Sugar Vols will be back together Friday evening for dinner. I’d like to be a fly on the wall.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
I agree wholeheartedly with the assessment of Marvin West’s talent. And there are few, if any, games in the history of the Vols more satisfying than the Miami Massacre (bushwackin’? ambushin’?). That 1st touchdown only fueled the enemy’s overconfidence, and the all-out blitzing that Miami never had an answer for gave our Orange ever-increasing confidence through the end. The “tell” of Miami’s center is the first I’ve heard of that – I learn something new from every one of Marvin’s articles. Thanks again for great retelling of THE game.
Marvin West is the GOAT of Sports writing. Too bad Adams cant be more like that. Lol
Thanks for the memories.