The great defense finally suffered a bit, leading to the disappointing 8-4 record which included a loss to Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl. Captain and All SEC DB Eddie Brown pulled his weight but the great LB's were gone. Holloway continued his exciting play, utilizing speedy Stanley Morgan's catching and running. The track star caught twenty-two passes for 511 yards. TB Stanback finished a prolific career rushing for 1730 total yards and then became a top-ten all-time rusher for the Atlanta Falcon franchise. Freshman guard Mickey Marvin became an immediate leader and Rickey Townsend was an All American kicker. For the final three games of '73 against Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt, the Vols wore a white helmet with two three-quarter-inch orange flanking stripes with the "T" on each side.

The 7-3-2 record of '74, even with a 7-3 Liberty Bowl win over Maryland was not considered "good" by Tennessee standards and tongues were clucking as Holloway finished his career as the first African-American QB in the SEC, headed to the CFL for additional success, and returned to UT as an athletic administrator. Stanley Morgan was still a big gun, switching between TB and WR and leading the SEC in scoring and 1587 all-purpose yards. OG Marvin was All Conference. The defense featured DE Ron McCartney and LB Andy Spiva. 1975's 7-5 record was the worst at UT in eleven years and the heat was on Coach Battle, especially with losses to North Texas State and Vanderbilt. Morgan was hampered by injury and WR Larry Seivers had to step up at an All American level to make up for it, catching forty-one for a big 840 yards. Mickey Marvin, All SEC, led the O-line. The defense, still not up to usual Vol standards, was keyed by All SEC performers safety Mike Mauck and LB Spiva. DE Ron McCartney had some great moments that he parlayed into three seasons with the Falcons.

With a slew of All Conference performers, much more was expected than a 6-5 record in '76, that opened with a loss to Duke. Mickey Marvin finished his great UT career, again named to the All SEC team and went on to a productive career with the Super Bowl Raiders between 1977 and '87. Stanley Morgan played WR and TB, returned kicks and became a number-one choice of the Patriots where he starred with New England for thirteen years, completing his pro career in '90 with the Colts as a feared receiver and return man. Frosh QB Jimmy Streater had a live arm, teaming with Morgan and senior WR Larry Seivers who finished with another fifty-one receptions, All America mention, and left the Vols as their all-time leading receiver. Soph C Robert Shaw was also All SEC. On defense, LB Andy Spiva was an All Conference pick and then played a year with the Falcons and the punting was handled by Craig Colquitt, one of many Colquitts to star as punting aces for the Vols. Despite a terrific winning percentage of .718 and four wins in five bowl appearances, the lure of bringing back native son and former All American Johnny Majors who had just won the National Championship at Pitt was too great and the middle-of-the-road records of Battle over the previous few seasons was enough to get him fired. He later headed up Collegiate Licensing Co. which changed the face of marketing of all NCAA merchandise and in effect, started an entirely new industry.

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