A look back at Tennessee Football's recent 'Dark Mode' history in black alternate uniforms

Tennessee Football on Saturday night will be in its all-black ‘Dark Mode’ alternate uniform against Kentucky at Neyland Stadium. Based on recent history, that bodes will for the Vols. Very well. 

Tennessee has worn a black alternate uniform four times since 2009, including three times over the last three seasons, and has won those games by an average of 25.5 points. 

Lane Kiffin revived the look in 2009 on Halloween night against South Carolina, the first time the Vols had worn black in 87 years. Josh Heupel brought in back in 2021 and added an all-black helmet in 2022.

Here’s a look back at Tennessee’s ‘Dark Mode’ games:

2023: Tennessee 41, South Carolina 20

Jaylen Wright rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, Joe Milton completed 21 of 32 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown and Kamal Hadden changed the game with an interception returned for a touchdown with under a minute left in the second half. 

Tennessee jumped out to a 7-0 lead after a 42-yard Wright touchdown run with 9:28 left in the first quarter, but South Carolina scored the next 10 points. The Vols answered with 24 straight points of their own.

Jabari Small ran for a 2-yard touchdown to give Tennessee the lead back at 14-10, Charles Cambell kicked a 24-yard field goal midway through the second quarter and Hadden returned a Spencer Rattler interception 28 yards for a touchdown with 47 seconds left before halftime to make it a 24-10 lead. Jacob Warren caught a 6-yard touchdown with 10:41 left in the third quarter to make it a three-touchdown difference. 

Tennessee’s defense was dominant, limiting South Carolina to 333 total yards while recording six sacks and eight tackles for loss.

2022: Tennessee 44, Kentucky 6

Tennessee’s all-black Dark Mode helmet made its debut against Kentucky in October 2022 and the Wildcats never stood a chance against the blacked-out Vols. 

Jalin Hyatt caught a 55-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes into the game and Tennessee outscored Kentucky 37-0 over the final three quarters. 

Hyatt added a 31-yard touchdown catch with 22 seconds left in the second quarter, putting Tennessee up 27-6 while he was on his way to catching five passes for 138 yards and the two touchdowns. 

Hendon Hooker completed 19 of 25 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns and Kentucky quarterback Will Levis had just 98 yards passing and was intercepted three times. Kentucky finished with just 205 total yards.

2021: Tennessee 45, South Carolina 20

Tennessee wore black jerseys for the first time in 12 years and couldn’t have gotten off to a faster start in the new look. The Vols scored 28 points in the first quarter and led South Carolina 38-7 at halftime on the way to a 45-20 win. 

Hooker completed 17 of 23 passes for 225 yards and three touchdown, Tiyon Evans ran 16 times for 119 yards and a touchdown and Velus Jones Jr. caught six passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. 

It was the second straight week Tennessee scored 28 points in the first quarter, after doing so a week earlier in a 62-24 win at Missouri. 

The first quarter against South Carolina included all three of Hooker’s touchdown passes: three yards to Hyatt, 21 yards to Jones and 39 yards to JaVonta Payton.

The Vols introduced their Dark Mode alternate uniform before the 2021 season, with black pants and black jerseys, with orange numbers and orange pants stripes. White helmets with a black facemask and black trim around the helmet stripe and Power T was worn in 2021, before the all-black helmet was added in 2022.

2009: Tennessee 31, South Carolina 13

Tennessee warmed up in orange jerseys before a Halloween night game against South Carolina at Neyland Stadium, but when the Vols ran out of the locker room and through the ’T’, they were clad in black jerseys and orange pants. 

The new look paid big dividends. Jonathan Crompton threw two touchdown passes and Montario Hardesty ran for 121 yards and two more touchdowns as Tennessee blitzed No. 22 South Carolina 31-13 in Knoxville. 

Rumors of an alternate black jersey swirled in the week leading up the game, but seemed to be bad information with the Vols in orange during pregame. But Lane Kiffin found a way to deliver what his players wanted. 

“It’s a players’ game, and our players had been begging for them for a while,” Kiffin said during his postgame press conference.

The jerseys were produced locally in the days leading up before the game and served as Tennessee’s first black jersey since 1922.