Tennessee and Texas battle for UT rights, SEC orange, Manning loyalty - ESPN

When you list the most storied college football programs of the past century, it is impossible to omit Tennessee or Texas. The Volunteers and Longhorns rank in the top 12 of most major measurements when sizing up greatness, from wins (Horns 976, Vols 890) and claimed national titles (Vols 6, Horns 4) to bowl appearances (Horns 63, Vols 58) and first-round NFL draft picks (Horns 58, Vols 48).

However, Saturday's capital-T Throwdown in Knoxville (noon ET, ABC) will be just the schools' fourth meeting on a football field, the first since 1969 and the first not played on New Year's Day in the Cotton Bowl.

Their inaugural clash was Jan. 1, 1951, when Robert Neyland's Vols — yes, the guy whose name is on Tennessee's stadium — won 20-14, thanks to a fourth-quarter rally. The Vols were led by running back and 1951 Heisman Trophy runner-up Hank Lauricella. (See, even in those days, Tennessee was coming up short in the Heisman race.) After the game, Texas head coach Blair Cherry resigned, despite a 9-1 record and a Southwest Conference championship, because he said the stress was killing him. Yes, even then, the expectations of the Longhorns' fan base were eating coaches alive.

The Horns and a new head coach (Ed Price) got their revenge two years later, also in the Cotton Bowl.

Then came that 1969 game, when James Street, aka father of former MLB pitcher Huston, ran the Texas wishbone to perfection under the guidance of head coach Darrell Royal — yes, the guy whose name is on Texas' stadium.

But despite such a small sample size of head-to-head games, Texas-Tennessee still kind of feels like a rivalry. Because during what feels like forever, the namesake schools of two very proud states have been in competition for everything from