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Tennessee football: Ranking Vols six past Gator Bowl games by memorability

By Caleb Calhoun

JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Tennessee Volunteers players celebrate following the TaxSlayer Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes at EverBank Field on January 2, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 45-28. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Tennessee Volunteers players celebrate following the TaxSlayer Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes at EverBank Field on January 2, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 45-28. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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6. 1973 (Dec. 29)

Lost to No. 11 Texas Tech Red Raiders 28-19

Final record: 8-4 (3-3); No. 19 AP

We start with one of the rare Gator Bowls that have no storyline for Tennessee football. In this one, the storyline was all about the Vols beginning their decline under Bill Battle in the early 1970s, and it only got worse from here.

UT headed to the Gator Bowl ranked No. 10 after an 8-3 season in which they lost to the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels. This was Year Two of the Condredge Holloway era, but it marked the first time since 1966 that the Vols had more than two losses in a season. As a result, Holloway was clearly single-handedly holding off an inevitable slide.

On the other side were the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This team went 10-1, only losing to the Texas Longhorns. So they were the higher ranked team and the better team. It played out that way on the field as well.

Texas Tech jumped out to a 14-0 lead. UT cut it to 14-10, but every time they threatened, the Red Raiders would pull back out in front. They got it to 21-19 in the fourth quarter but failed on a two-point conversion. Then another Texas Tech touchdown put them in control for good.

Despite the 8-4 finish, the Vols still finished in the top 20. But they only had one more bowl season in them before the rapid decline of the 1970s began. After the departure of Holloway, they would go without reaching a bowl for four straight years.

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