Tennessee's Recent Bowl History
If the Tennessee football program can hang its hat on anything from recent history, it can hang its hat on the idea that they win games in the postseason once or if they get to it. Since 2014, the Vols have been 5-1 in bowl games, as they have gone to six in those nine years. Of those six bowl games, three came during Butch Jones' time as coach, one during Jeremy Pruitt's time as coach, and the final two came in the Josh Heupel era.
The three bowl wins under Jones included a Gator Bowl win over Iowa, an Outback Bowl win over Northwestern, and a Music City Bowl win over Nebraska. These were the only three bowl games Jones would go to in his career in Knoxville that went from the 2013 season through the 2017 one. Pruitt brought Tennessee a bowl win during the 2019 season with another Gator Bowl victory for the Volunteers over Indiana. This would be Pruitt's only opportunity with the Vols at a bowl game, as he would get fired the next season after a 3-7 record.
Tennessee HC Josh Heupel with Joe Milton III and Hendon Hooker after their Orange Bowl victory in Miami, Florida, on December 31, 2022. (Photo by Jasen Vinlove of USA Today Sports)
In two seasons, current head coach Josh Heupel has brought the Vols to two operating bowl games. The first one in season number one was an overtime loss to Purdue in the Music City Bowl. That would be Tennessee's first loss in a bowl game since 2010 when Derek Dooley was head coach. However, a second chance was in order as Heupel would lead Tennessee to an Orange Bowl win over the Clemson Tigers. It would be the Volunteers' first BCS/New Year's Six level bowl win since the Cotton Bowl back in 2004, that saw the Vols beat Texas A&M. The postseason certainly has been kind to Tennessee as of late. This shows some possible good omens for the future as they enter the realm of college football playoff contention.
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