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Tennessee football: Ranking Vols four seasons following previous Gator Bowl wins

By Caleb Calhoun

14 Oct 1995: TENNESSEE PLAYERS CELEBRATE AFTER WIDE RECEIVER MARCUS NASH SCORED HIS SECOND TOUCHDOWN AGAINST ALABAMA DURING THE SECOND QUARTER OF THE VOLUNTEERS 41-14 VICTORY OVER THE CRIMSON TIDE AT LEGION FIELD IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.
14 Oct 1995: TENNESSEE PLAYERS CELEBRATE AFTER WIDE RECEIVER MARCUS NASH SCORED HIS SECOND TOUCHDOWN AGAINST ALABAMA DURING THE SECOND QUARTER OF THE VOLUNTEERS 41-14 VICTORY OVER THE CRIMSON TIDE AT LEGION FIELD IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA. /
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Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images /

3. 2015

9-4 (5-3); No. 22 AP; No. 23 Coaches; W Outback Bowl

2014: 7-6 (3-5); Won TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Iowa Hawkeyes

Dominating the Iowa Hawkeyes 45-28 in what was then called the TaxSlayer Bowl, which is the same as the Gator Bowl, was a great sendoff for a turnaround year. Tennessee football was 3-5 earlier in the season, but then Joshua Dobbs became the starter and turned things around, leading them to their first winning season in five years at the time.

The Vols were set for bigger things in 2015, and they were ranked in both preseason polls for the first time since 2008. With all but two starters back and a second straight top five recruiting class, they were clearly a program on the rise entering Butch Jones’s third year. Replacing Mike Bajakian with Mike DeBord as offensive coordinator only made things more exciting.

But Rocky Top got off to a rocky start. They blew three leads of 13 points or more in losses to the Oklahoma Sooners, the Florida Gators in the ultimate heartbreak and the Arkansas Razorbacks. At 2-3, they appeared to be a bust. But then they came back from 24-3 down to upset the Georgia Bulldogs 38-31 to gain some newfound momentum.

They lost 19-14 to the Alabama Crimson Tide on a late fourth-quarter drive, but then they ran the table. That included wins over the Kentucky Wildcats, South Carolina Gamecocks, North Texas Mean Green, Missouri Tigers and Vanderbilt Commodores. All of a sudden, 2-3 was 8-4.

UT completed its rebound with a 45-6 win in the Outback Bowl over the Northwestern Wildcats. That resulted in their first top 25 finish and first season with more than seven wins since 2007. So while the Gator Bowl win the previous season wasn’t an immediate sendoff, they ended up righting the ship.

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