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Tennessee Vols Finish Season with Huge Blowout Win over Northwestern Wildcats in Outback Bowl

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 1, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Alvin Kamara (6) is congratulated by teammates as he scores a touchdown against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half in the 2016 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Alvin Kamara (6) is congratulated by teammates as he scores a touchdown against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half in the 2016 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tennessee Vols football team closed their 2015 season with a 45-6 blowout win over the Northwestern Wildcats. The Volunteers finished the year 9-4.

Joshua Dobbs ran for two touchdowns, Evan Berry had a pick-six, and Jalen Hurd picked up 130 yards on the ground to be the game’s MVP as the Vols ran down the throats of the Northwestern Wildcats in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day for a strong finish to the season.

Related Story: Jalen Hurd Shows How Dominant He Is With Two Great Plays

Tennessee beat Northwestern 45-6 and controlled the game from start to finish, showing just how much talent they have.

The Wildcats fell to 10-3 to finish the season while the Vols closed the year out with a 9-4 record. It was the second straight year the Vols scored 45 points in a bowl game, both times against a Big Ten team.

Tennessee’s defense dominated the entire game, holding the Wildcats to only 261 yards of total offense.

Northwestern kept the game close early thanks to a series of mistakes by Tennessee, including a missed field goal and a series of penalties. But the Wildcats also missed a field goal early.

Butch Jones’s team finally got on the board late in the first quarter off of a 14-yard run by Dobbs to give the Vols a 7-0 lead. Dobbs finished with 12 carries for 48 yards and 14 of 25 passes for 166 yards.

After an Aaron Medley field goal, Tennessee surrendered a touchdown to Northwestern, but the Wildcats missed the extra point to make it 10-6.

Then the Vols gave the Big Ten defense a heavy dose of the speedy Alvin Kamara, who was able to walk into the end zone in the second quarter for a touchdown to give them a 17-6 lead. Kamara finished with 11 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown and three receptions for 19 yards.

In the second half, Butch Jones attempted a fake field goal that did not work, but the Vols then decided to go to their bruiser to protect the lead: Jalen Hurd.

Hurd had a three-touchdown run in the third to give the Vols a 24-6 lead, and he broke off two amazing runs the next drive to extend the Vols lead with a fourth quarter touchdown. Dobbs scored on that one after fumbling a snap and running it in.

The Tennessee backups got in and scored another touchdown, and Berry finished it off late in the fourth quarter after intercepting a pass in the red zone and running it back for six.

Surprisingly, tight end Alex Ellis was the leading receiver for the Vols with three receptions for 74 yards.

More volunteers: Dobbs Runs Fumbled Snap in for TD

Despite a 2-3 start to the year, the Vols had a very strong finish to the season, winning seven of their last eight and their final six games.

The win should secure the Vols a Top 25 finish and mean huge expectations going into next year.

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