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Top 10 Bowl Game Victories in Tennessee Football History

By Caleb Calhoun

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Nov 14, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; General view of Kush Field prior to the game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Washington Huskies at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

1. 1999 Fiesta Bowl: Tennessee Beats Florida State 23-16

And this is the most obvious one. The only time the Tennessee Vols won a bowl game that assured them the national championship was this game, so it obviously has to be No. 1 as the greatest bowl win in school history.

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    • We know the story of the 1998 Vols, who lost six All-SEC performers, two All-Americans, and a Heisman candidate the previous year to the NFL. By the way, that Heisman candidate was obviously Peyton Manning, so they also had to break in a new quarterback in Tee Martin.

    As a result, they were written off as a rebuilding team in 1998 before going 12-0. But even as they entered this game ranked No. 1 against the 11-1 and No. 2 ranked Florida State Seminoles, many people saw them as a fluke. The close wins against Syracuse, Florida, Arkansas, and Mississippi State had people raising their eyebrows, while Florida State had dominated everybody since its early-season hiccup.

    But it seemed like nobody wanted to point out the fact that Tennessee had played the toughest schedule that year. As a result, Florida State entered the game favored by five in one of the most idiotic lines in sports history.

    Meanwhile, all the talk was about star wide receiver Peter Warrick and what he would do to the Tennessee secondary. What he did was a remarkable one reception for nine yards.

    There was a star receiver that day, but it was on the other side. Peerless Price caught a long first-quarter pass to set up the first Vols’ touchdown and give them a 7-0 lead. Ironically, Dwayne Goodrich intercepted a pass intended for Warrick the next drive and scored a touchdown off it to extend the lead to 14-0.

    Then, with a 14-9 lead late in the fourth, Tee Martin found Price for a 79-yard touchdown pass. Price, not Warrick, was the star of the game, and Tennessee, not Florida State, was the best team on the field.

    The Vols won the game 23-16 and won the first ever BCS National Championship. In addition to being the greatest bowl win in Tennessee history, it is arguably the greatest win period in Vols history.

    Next: Tennessee Football All-Time Team

    These are the Top 10 bowl victories for Tennessee football in the school’s history. What did you agree with?  What did you disagree with? Please feel free to leave your comments below.

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