Rocky Toppled
a sunny afternoon at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium before a record-setting crowd of 65,885. The Tigers were pitted against the No. 6 ranked Tennessee Volunteers, who held a decided 15-0 series lead. The game, which was carried by CBS TV,
matched Heisman Trophy candidate Peyton Manning of Tennessee against the Tigers' outstanding defense led by senior Tony Williams and Richard Hogans.Tennessee scored the afternoon's first points on a two- yard run at the 3:06 mark of the first quarter. Tennessee held their 7-0 lead until the final seconds of the first half when the Tigers' Keith Spann intercepted a Manning pass and returned it 76 yards to the Vols' 1-yard line. Memphis quarterback Qadry Anderson then sneaked in from one-yard out to knot the score at the half. Tennessee opened the third quarter by driving 72 yards in 13 plays for the go-ahead score. But Memphis kick returner Kevin Cobb answered UT's score with a 95-yard acrobatic return, which again tied the score at 14-14. Both teams battled around midfield until the six minute mark of the fourth quarter when Jeff Hall connected on a 28-yard field goal. With 6:01 left in the contest, Memphis took the kickoff and mounted a 70-yard, 12-play drive which culminated in an Anderson to Chris Powers touchdown pass to seal the Memphis victory 21-17. The Tiger defense held the final 34 seconds as Tiger fans poured over the walls and tore down the goalposts.
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Big Moments in Tiger History The highlight of the 1996 season came on
The scoreboard indicates the final outcome of the 1996 Memphis vs. Tennessee game that was televised by CBS-TV. The Tigers' dramatic upset of the sixth-ranked Vols was voted the Upset of the Year in college football and the Tigers' Kevin Cobb received an ESPN Espy Award for his acrobatic kickoff return for a touchdown.
MORE 2011 Memphis Football Experience
Elated Tiger fans tear down the goal posts following Memphis' 21-17 win over the sixth-ranked Tennessee Vols.
