Just five days after Tennessee head coach Phil Fulmer tearfully announced his resignation effective at the end of the season, one might imagine things couldn’t get any worse for the Volunteers.
Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, things got a lot worse.
Wyoming (4-6, 1-5 Mountain West), a 28-point underdog and a team entering Saturday’s game with wins over the likes of Ohio, North Dakota State and San Diego State, beat the Volunteers 13-7.
The loss was Tennessee’s seventh this season, marking the first time the Vols have lost this many games since 1977.
The Volunteers abysmal offense could only manage 219 yards against the lowly Cowboys and turned the ball over twice, one of those resulting in a touchdown to put Wyoming up 13-0 at halftime.
Vols WR Denarius Moore Gains Ground Against Wyoming
After Fulmer resigned on Monday, Tennessee’s players promised wins in their last three games to honor their beloved coach. It was a promise they obviously couldn’t keep.
The Vols hadn’t lost on homecoming since Miami beat them in 2002. The announced attendance for Saturday’s game was 99,489, but Neyland Stadium, which seats over 106,000, was only two-thirds full.
Tennessee defensive end Wes Brown struggled to find words as he faced reporters after the game, hanging his head and crying a bit.
“We’re not going to make excuses,” Brown said after gaining some composure. “It’s been a tough week, but there’s no excuse for how we played.
No one wanted anything more than to win these games for coach Fulmer and these coaches. That’s all I can say — it’s been a tough week.”
On Tennessee’s first possession of the game, the Cowboys’ Mike Neuhaus intercepted a pass from Nick Stephens and ran 55 yards before being tackled at the Vols 4.
On Wyoming’s first play, Chris Stutzriem connected on a short pass to Greg Genho to put the Cowboys up 7-0 just 2:56 into the game.
Wyoming's Ward Dobbs Returns an Interception for a TD Against Tennessee
Stephens was picked again in the second quarter, this time by Ward Dobbs who raced 24 yards to put Wyoming up 13-0 with 9:03 left before halftime.
“Obviously it’s been a really hard week on everybody,” Fulmer said. “If anything, I should be apologizing to the fans and everybody for this whole week coming about.”
After Stephens’ second interception, Tennessee went to Jonathan Crompton, who began the season as the starting quarterback.
On the Vols’ first possession with Crompton under center, he underthrew a pass, was sacked for an 8-yard loss and overthrew Austin Rogers on third-and-19, drawing boos from the Tennessee fans.
Tennessee’s only score came on their first possession of the second half, with Gerald Jones catching an 8-yard pass from Crompton to cap off an 11-play, 64-yard drive, cutting Wyoming’s lead to 13-7 with 10:08 left in the third quarter.
The Vols’ had chances to win the game in the fourth quarter, putting together two 10-play drives, but both ended with Tennessee turning the ball over on downs.
Crompton finished with 91 yards on 11-of-27 attempts. Running back Lennon Creer led the Vols in rushing, gaining 82 yards on 16 carries.
Tennessee (3-7, 1-5 SEC) has now been held to single digits in three straight games for the first time since 1964.
Tennessee will have a week off before they play their final two games against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. The Vols have never had eight losses in one season in the 107-year history of the program.
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