By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
978 days. That is how long the Tennessee losing streak lasted. Tennessee beat Florida 45-42 in Season 12 and didn’t win again in the next 38 games. The Steroid Era was just beginning back then. Teams like Illinois, North Carolina, Kentucky, and West Virginia weren’t in the league yet. CFSL legends like Cece Range, JT Cass Jr, Laci White, and Lincoln Griffin had yet to play a single snap. And Mike had long, flowing hair like Fabio. Okay, maybe I made that last one up, but you get the point. It had been a long time since the Volunteers had gotten a win.
But now, all of that is over! On Tuesday night, Tennessee beat Syracuse 52-33 to end the streak. And there is no one more excited than Tennessee AD CJ Furman. “[It is] a massive weight off the back of not only myself but my team,” Furman said. This is something Furman had been working toward for a long time.
Furman took over the AD of Tennessee when they returned to the league in Season 19. However, that was not his first stint with the team. He played and coached for the Volunteers in Seasons 14 and 15. He lost every game he ever played for the team he loves the most. He has been around for 30 of the 38 losses, which might have been enough to turn anyone else way, but not Furman. “When we folded I set a goal for myself to bring them back. It was unfinished business that drove me.” Furman lived up to his goal and gave the Volunteers their first CFSL win since Season 12.
This article was nearly written last week. Tennessee took Georgia to overtime in Week 6 but ultimately fell just short. “I knew my guys gave it all. And it didn’t matter in the moment if we won or lost,” Furman said. He continued, “The locker room was electric like we did win. So [I] guess that momentum carried to the final home game.” That momentum carried them over Syracuse and then Tennessee had something to really celebrate. “The new guys in the locker room went crazy,” said Furman.
The Tennessee AD was quick to shout out his seniors on the team. WR Matt Cavitt, WR Dareon Hall, and TE Justin Sharpless have been with Tennessee since they returned to the league. Cavitt and Hall have spent their entire careers playing for Furman. They both started at Bowling Green, where Furman was the Head Coach, before following him to Tennessee. “When they joined me here in Knoxville they knew they could thrive at bigger and better schools. But they wanted to make history here at Tennessee.” And make history they have.
Now that the first win is out of the way, Furman has his sights set high for the Volunteers. He talked about getting the win next week and possibly earning a vote-in spot into the playoffs. However, the ultimate goal hasn’t changed. Furman said his long-term goal is to “bring the Volunteers back to the Championship.”
The losing streak is over and Tennessee is ready to start a new streak. They will play bitter rival Kentucky on Thursday night and the Volunteers will be looking for their second consecutive victory. Good luck to the Volunteers and their AD that didn’t give up.
