The fist came from somewhere in the pile around the goal line at Shields-Watkins Field.

Moments after Andy Kozar leapt from the 2-yard line, over the Vanderbilt defense and into the end zone to land the final blow in the closing seconds of a 35-27 Tennessee triumph on Dec. 1, 1951, the Vols’ fullback was punched in the face.

He wasn’t sure who threw the first one. But more punches followed. Then the benches cleared and police stormed the field to break up the brawl.

On an afternoon where tensions flared and two Tennessee players had already been ejected for kicking and punching, it had reached its boiling point on the final play from scrimmage.

“It was one of those furious, knock-down, drag-out, melees,” Bob Wilson of the Knoxville News-Sentinel wrote. “It caused tempers to flare and fists to fly among the opposing gladiators.”

The setting for the No. 1 Vols’ grand finale of an unbeaten regular season was benign, hardly the kind of game that would need the kind of extra effort that would lead to a near riot.

Tennessee began the day within reach of its first consensus national title under Robert Neyland after winning each of its first nine games by no less than two scores on its way to a Sugar Bowl bid.

The lowly Commodores, who had lost 10 of the last 11 to the Vols didn’t seem like a threat that week, even with All-SEC quarterback “Bullet” Bill Wade. That seemed especially true after Vanderbilt trailed by three scores in the second half. Then Tennessee was suddenly clinging to life in the third quarter and again in the fourth.

Few Tennessee-Vanderbilt games in the 130-plus years that the two in-state schools have played have meant more than the one they will play on Saturday at Neyland Stadium (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) as the No. 18 Vols (8-3, 4-3 SEC) look to dash the Commodores’ (9-2, 5-2) College Football Playoff hopes.

Vanderbilt very nearly did the same to Tennessee on the same field 74 years ago. This is the story of how the heroics of Herky Payne and Andy Kozar and a couple of gutsy do-or-die calls cemented one of the greatest seasons in Vols football history, instead.

An unfamiliar spot

Peggy Neyland sat stoically in the stands.

The wife of the Tennessee head coach had a ritual she followed every week. She didn’t cheer or allow anyone sitting near her to cheer until the Vols were up at least three scores.

After Doug Atkins picked up a blocked punt and waltzed into the end zone to stretch the Tennessee lead to 21-0 in the third quarter, someone asked Peggy if it was OK to celebrate.

“Tennessee homecomers sat back in their seats, feeling that the ball game was in the bag,” Wilson penned in the News-Sentinel.

The Vols likely had their sights set on their New Year’s Day clash with No. 3 Maryland in New Orleans a month to the day later. The crowd of 45,000 hadn’t seen too many tense battles at Shields-Watkins Field that season.

Tennessee out-scored opponents 338-61 in nine games and another convincing victory could have sealed a national title bid that undefeated and No. 2 Michigan State was also vying for.

Vanderbilt swung back, though. Bill Wade led an 81-yard scoring march by carving up the Vols’ secondary with his arm. Hank Lauricella’s fumble at the 28 gave the Commodores a short field, and they paid it off with another touchdown.

The frustration was building for the Vols as team captain Bert Rechichar reportedly took a swing at a Vanderbilt player and was exiled to the sideline.

It only grew when Wade hit Jimmy Ray for 64 yards to set up Vanderbilt’s third score of the quarter. Dick Foster’s game-tying extra point missed wide, but Tennessee was holding onto a razor-thin 21-20 lead heading into the fourth.

Visions of a national championship were fading and the Vols were in desperate need of an answer.

“Instead of being downcast at their misfortune, the Commodores literally thumbed their noses at their luck and did something about it,” Raymond Johnson wrote for the Nashville Tennessean.

Herky Payne paid off gamble—twice

The ball sat on the 16-yard line.

Tennessee, cornered early in the fourth quarter, had finally come off the ropes and were in position to hit back at a Vanderbilt team that had been throwing jabs, but it needed five yards.

Herky Payne, the SEC’s leading scorer in 1951, got the call on fourth down. The Vols’ tailback burst through a hole on the left side and picked up eight yards. Then the drive started to stall again.

Tennessee was on the doorstep, but faced fourth down again at the three. Payne, one of the stars of a backfield that featured leading rusher Hank Lauricella and broke the conference’s single-season rushing record with 3,066 yards, took another carry, this time smashing through the right for his 14th touchdown of the season, this one to go up 28-20.

The Vols had some breathing room, but Wade made them hold their breath again when Vanderbilt got the ball back and scored to get back within a score at 28-27 with four minutes to go.

The Commodores had one more chance in the final two minutes, but Tennessee’s defense made a stand on a desperation fourth down attempt at the Vanderbilt 25. The Vols survived and Kozar’s touchdown that led to blows was for good measure, though it didn’t matter much.

After the field was cleared, the players returned for Tennessee’s its extra point. The clock ran out as ball harmlessly bounced out of the bounds and both teams “shook hands, and patted each other on the back,” according to newspaper reports. 

Tennessee remained No. 1 in the wire service polls three days later and were crowned national champions. The Vols lost to Maryland in the Sugar Bowl, but it was nothing more than consolation for one of Neyland’s best teams.

Beating Vanderbilt was the assurance.

“I’m proud of them as a team,” Neyland told reporters after accepting the title. “And darn good boys.”