Breaking: Tennessee Vols will face the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl
The Tennessee Volunteers know where they'll be going bowling, and it will be in Florida – just not in the same city they'd been projected by many. The Vols and Iowa Hawkeyes will clash on New Years Day in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. It's the Vols' first trip to the Citrus Bowl […]
The Tennessee Volunteers know where they'll be going bowling, and it will be in Florida – just not in the same city they'd been projected by many.
The Vols and Iowa Hawkeyes will clash on New Years Day in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. It's the Vols' first trip to the Citrus Bowl since defeating Michigan 45-17 to end the 2001 season.
Tennessee was projected by many to end up in the Gator Bowl against UNC or another ACC team. There had also been rumblings about the possibility of Tennessee ending up in Tampa in the ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly known as the Outback Bowl) against Notre Dame.
But the Vols ultimately fell forward and ended up at a bowl that's higher up in the pecking order. Credit to Danny White for helping that to come to fruition. The Vols are 4-1 all time in Citrus Bowl, with their only loss coming to Penn State 31-13 to end the 1993 season.
And the matchup is ideal for Tennessee. Iowa has one of the worst offenses in the country. They managed to win 10 games through a combination of tough defense and good field position, eking out a number of low scoring, ugly affairs.
Tennessee has the offense to be able to score points on anyone, and the defense should be more than up to the challenge of handling the Hawkeyes' offense. The Vols could still potentially get back WR Dont'e Thornton for the bowl game, and a banged up offensive line will have a month to heal regardless.
For the time being, Tennessee fans can start making their New Years plans for sunny Orlando.
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