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The No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers (9-3) will play the unranked Penn State Nittany Lions (8-4) in the Outback Bowl on New Years Day at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., with an early 11 a.m. kickoff. Two of the nation’s most storied and tradition-laden college football programs, Tennessee and Penn State, have met just four times on the gridiron. Each school owns two victories in the series, which dates to 1971. And this year’s bowl match-up is the third post season meeting between the Volunteers and the Nittany Lions.
Tennessee rebounded nicely from its disastrous 5-6 record from 2005. Throw in a key win against a key foe and the bowl would likely be more interesting than the Outback Bowl, where they will face 80 year old Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lions.
The Volunteers started the season in great fashion pummeling California 35-18 but struggled the next week barely beating Air Force. A week later, they lost 21-20 at home to Florida. That loss seemed to wake them up, as they reeled off five straight wins. But when the going got tough in November with a home date against LSU and road game at Arkansas, the Volunteers couldn’t keep up. They lost both of those games and despite mopping up with two pedestrian victories; there was no glam bowl for Tennessee.
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Truth be told, the Volunteers had several weaknesses beyond their inability in late season to beat quality conference foes. The running game was not strong at all. Tennessee had high hopes, but Montario Hardesty and Adrian Foster were disappointing. Neither managed four yards per carry. LaMarcus Coker made the most of his touches, as he averaged 6.4 yards per carry and scored for times. (He was also dangerous as a kickoff returner, as he averaged 20 yards a pop.)
As Penn State continues to develop some of the nation’s best defensive players, this year’s team has seen a drop in offensive output by over 11 points per game from the end of the 2005 season.
The Penn State offense has struggled in 2006 putting undue pressure on the defense. Running back Tony Hunt can’t be a one-man show every night. Even with his 102.3 yards per game this season, he shouldn’t be expected to carry the team’s offense again in the Outback Bowl.
The impressive defensive stats are there again this year; 14.8 points per game, 279 total yards per game, and No. 2 in the Big Ten against the rush. Let’s not forget that all their losses were to Top 10-ranked teams, three from the Big Ten.
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Both Paul Posluszny and Dan Connor had over 100 tackles in the linebacker position and both are finalists for the coveted 2006 honors for the nation’s outstanding defensive player.
The Volunteers have been installed minus -4 ½ point favorites in Las Vegas and -4 by Bodog.com offshore with a total of 41.
