KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee will play in its 51st bowl game on Jan. 1, 2016, when the Vols take on No. 12 Northwestern in the 30th annual Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
The ESPN2 broadcast will feature Tom Hart and Rod Gilmore in the booth and Quint Kessenich reporting from the sidelines. Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate with Bob Kesling, Tim Priest and Brent Hubbs in the booth and John Brice on the sidelines.
Tickets for the game can be purchased online via Ticketmaster.com.
Tennessee (8-4, 5-3 SEC) and Northwestern (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) have faced each other once before. The Vols defeated the Wildcats, 48-28, in the 1997 Florida Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 1997, in Orlando, Fla. Peyton Manning led Tennessee to victory with 408 passing yards and four touchdowns.
UT finished the 2015 regular season with a five-game winning streak. The Vols have their first five-game win streak and their first eight-win season since 2007 when UT won its last five games to finish 9-3. Tennessee capped the regular season with a 53-28 win over SEC rival Vanderbilt on Nov. 28. The Vols are ranked No. 23 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Northwestern also concluded its regular-season slate with a five-game winning streak to post a 10-2 record, the Wildcats’ fourth 10-win season in program history. NU qualified for its 12th bowl game and its sixth under head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Northwestern wrapped its regular season with a 24-14 win over Illinois on Nov. 28 at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Wildcats are ranked No. 12 in the AP and Coaches polls and No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Tennessee’s Bowl History
Tennessee is 26-24 all-time in bowls and the Vols are playing in their 33rd January bowl game and second in a row. UT defeated Iowa, 45-28, in last year’s TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Vols are making their fourth appearance in the Outback Bowl, which was previously known as the Hall of Fame Bowl. UT is 2-1 all-time in the bowl. Tennessee defeated Boston College, 38-23, in the 1993 Hall of Fame Bowl, fell to Penn State, 20-10, in the 2007 Outback Bowl and beat Wisconsin, 21-17, in the 2008 Outback Bowl.
Butch Jones has led the Vols to back-to-back bowls for the first time since the 2009 and 2010 seasons and consecutive bowls under the same head coach for the first time since the 2006 and 2007 seasons under Phillip Fulmer.
Tennessee became bowl eligible on Nov. 14, its earliest date to earn win number six since 2007 (Nov. 3).
Tennessee Honors
Ten Vols have earned postseason honors this month with Evan Berry (KR) and Cameron Sutton (PR) garnering All-America accolades. Here is a full listing of UT’s honorees:
Derek Barnett – Defensive Line
– Pro Football Focus All-American
– All-SEC Second Team (Coaches)
– All-SEC Second Team (Associated Press)
– GridironNow.com All-SEC Second-Team Defense
Evan Berry – Kickoff Returner
– Walter Camp First Team All-American
– Sporting News First Team All American
– Sports Illustrated First Team All American
– AutoNation FWAA Second Team All-American
– CBS Sports Second Team All-American
– FOX Sports Second Team All-American
– SEC Special Teams Player of the Year
– All-SEC First Team (Coaches)
– All-SEC Second Team (Associated Press) – All-Purpose
– ESPN.com All-SEC
– GridironNow.com All-SEC First-Team Specialists
Chance Hall – Offensive Line
– Sporting News Freshman All-American
– 247Sports True Freshman All-American
– All-SEC Freshman Team
Jalen Hurd – Running Back
– All-SEC Second Team (Coaches)
– All-SEC Second Team (Associated Press)
– GridironNow.com All-SEC Second-Team Offense
Kyler Kerbyson – Offensive Line
– ESPN.com All-SEC
– All-SEC Second Team (Associated Press)
Darrin Kirkland Jr. – Linebacker
– All-SEC Freshman Team
Jalen Reeves-Maybin – Linebacker
– All-SEC Second Team (Associated Press)
– GridironNow.com All-SEC Second-Team Defense
Jashon Robertson – Offensive Line
– GridironNow.com All-SEC Second-Team Offense
Cameron Sutton – Punt Returner
– Sporting News First Team All American
– AutoNation FWAA Second Team All-American
– GridironNow.com All-SEC First-Team Specialists
Dylan Wiesman – Offensive Line
– All-SEC Second Team (Associated Press)
#ExtraSpecialTeams
Tennessee leads the NCAA in kickoff return average (33.4). SEC Special Teams Player of the Year Evan Berry is the nation’s top kickoff returner with an average of 38.3.
Berry is one of four players in the nation with three kickoff returns for touchdown (vs. Western Carolina, Arkansas and Kentucky) His 34.8 career kickoff return average is No. 1 in UT history. With three kickoff return touchdowns, Berry has tied Willie Gault’s 1980 Tennessee record for most kickoff returns for scores in a season.
Cameron Sutton is fourth in the NCAA punt return average (18.7) and is one of just 12 players with two punt-return touchdowns this season.
After not accomplishing the feat of having a kickoff return and punt return for TD in the same game since 1950, UT has done it twice this season (vs. WCU and at Kentucky).
The Vols have a modern program history record six special teams touchdowns (three kickoff-return TDs, three punt-return TDs).
Trevor Daniel is ninth in the NCAA and second in the SEC in punting average at 45.6. Of Daniel’s 56 punts, 20 went 50-plus yards and 23 have landed inside the 20-yard line.
#NeedToKnow
The Vols are 4-1 all-time in games played in Tampa, Fla.
Butch Jones began his career as an intern in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987-89. He was a ball boy at Super Bowl XXV and retrieved Scott Norwood’s wide-right field goal attempt.
In Joshua Dobbs’ last 18 starts, the Vols are 13-5, averaging 33.6 points, 424 yards/game.
Tennessee has 2,682 rushing yards in 12 games (with eight games of 200-plus yards), UT’s most since 2,701 in 1989. All-SEC second team running back Jalen Hurd is the first sophomore to gain 2,000 yards in Tennessee history. With 1,158 yards this year, he is the 18th 1000-yard rusher at UT.
The Vols’ four losses have come by a total of 17 points to teams with a combined record of 36-8 (.818), including three teams with a record of 10-1 (Okla., Florida, Alabama). Tennessee is the only team to have played two of the four College Football Playoff teams (Oklahoma and Alabama).
Tennessee vs. The Big Ten
Tennessee’s last game against a Big Ten team was its 45-28 win over Iowa in last year’s TaxSlayer Bowl.
Several of UT’s games against current Big Ten teams have been in bowl games. The Vols are 10-10 against current members of the league in bowl games.