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Vols Back in the Citrus Bowl for First Time Since 2002
Tennessee is making its first Citrus Bowl appearance in over two decades as the Volunteers take on Big Ten West champion Iowa on New Year's Day. This is UT's 55th all-time bowl game appearance (29-25), which ranks fifth nationally. Tennessee is making its sixth Citrus Bowl appearance and will look to improve upon its 4-1 record in the bowl.
In its last trip to Orlando, offensive MVP Casey Clausen accounted for five touchdowns - three passing and two rushing - to lead UT past Michigan, 45-17, on Jan. 1, 2002. Tight end Jason Witten caught six passes for 125 yards, including a 64-yarder in the third quarter, and defensive tackle John Henderson was named the defensive MVP.
The Vols also own Citrus Bowl victories over Maryland (1983), Ohio State (1996) and Northwestern (1997). Running back Jay Graham was the MVP in the 1996 contest, and quarterback Peyton Manning earned the honor in 1997 after throwing for 408 yards and four touchdowns.
This marks UT's second straight Florida bowl appearance after the Vols played in their first Orange Bowl since January 1998 last season, besting ACC champion Clemson, 31-14, to finish No. 6 in the final polls. Tennessee has won its last five Florida bowl appearances on the field dating back to the 2008 Outback Bowl.
UT Looking to Cap Another Successful Season Under Heupel
Tennessee secured a third-place finish in the final SEC East standings and posted a .500 or better SEC record (4-4) for the third straight season, a first for the program since it did it 16 straight seasons from 1989-2004. The Vols are seeking back-to-back seasons of at least nine victories for the first time since 2014-15. It's the winningest two-year stretch for the program since claiming 19 victories from 2006-07. A win versus Iowa would give the Big Orange 20 victories since the start of the 2022 season, the most over a two-year span for UT since 2003-04 (20).
Passing of the Torch
Tennessee true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava is set to make his first career start after redshirt senior Joe Milton III announced on Wednesday that he was opting out of the bowl game to focus on preparations for the NFL Draft.
Iamaleava, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 signing class according to On3, will be the first quarterback in program history to make his first start in a bowl game and just the third true freshman signal caller to start a bowl game for the Vols (more info below).
Bowl Game Starts by UT True Freshman QBs
Peyton Manning – 1994 Gator Bowl vs. Virginia Tech (W, 45-23)
Stat Line: 12-19, 189 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Casey Clausen – 2001 Cotton Bowl vs. Kansas State (L, 35-21)
Stat Line: 7-25, 120 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
Tyler Bray – 2010 Music City Bowl vs. North Carolina (L, 30-27)
Stat Line: 27-45, 312 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
