2015 TaxSlayer Bowl Postgame Notes

Jan. 2, 2015

POSTGAME NOTES

TENNESSEE BOWL RECORDS

Tennessee defeated Iowa in the 70th Annual TaxSlayer Bowl by a score of 45-28.
In its 118th season of football, UT's all-time bowl record now stands at 26-24.
With 50 total bowl game appearances, Tennessee is tied for the fourth-most bowl appearances in college football history.
Tennessee's 45 points against Iowa tie for the second-most points scored in a bowl game in school history, matching the points scored of their 1994 Gator Bowl appearance vs. Virginia Tech (W, 45-23) and their 2002 Citrus Bowl game vs. Michigan (W, 45-17).
UT recorded six touchdowns, tying a school record for most touchdowns recorded in a bowl game, previously set on three occasions: 1994 TaxSlayer/Gator Bowl, 1997 Citrus Bowl and the 2002 Citrus Bowl.
With a score of 35-7 through the first half, the Vols recorded their most points in the first half of a bowl game since 1994, when Tennessee led Virginia Tech, 35-10, in the Gator Bowl (Gainesville, Fla.).
On the season, the Vols had four different players throw touchdown passes: #11 Joshua Dobbs, #13 Patrick Ashford, #14 Justin Worley and #15 Marlin Lane. It marks the first time for UT to have four players throw touchdown passes since 1994, with a combination of Peyton Manning, Brandon Stewart, Todd Helton and James Stewart.
70th Annual TaxSlayer Bowl attendance: 56,310.

VOLS VS. HAWKEYES ALL-TIME

With the win, Tennessee improved to 2-1 all-time against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The TaxSlayer Bowl represents the third all-time meeting between Tennessee and Iowa, with the teams having split the first two meetings. The Vols won the 1987 Kickoff Classic, a 23-22 win. The Hawkeyes won the inaugural meeting in the 1982 Peach Bowl, a 28-22 decision.

TENNESSEE CAPTAINS

#11 Joshua Dobbs, #54 Jordan Williams and #56 Curt Maggitt represented the Vols for the pregame coin toss.
NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. assisted with the pregame coin toss.

FOR STARTERS

Tennessee started five true freshmen against Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl: #1 Jalen Hurd (TB), #4 Vic Wharton (WR), #9 Derek Barnett (DE), #73 Jashon Robertson (RG) and #82 Ethan Wolf (TE).
On the year, Tennessee has started at least three true freshmen in every game, with the freshman class having now accumulated 65 total starts this season.
#51 Kenny Bynum started at middle linebacker for UT against Iowa, marking his first career start with the Vols.

OFFENSE

VOLUNTEER PLAYMAKERS

Tennessee scored on the first four drives for the first time since the 2013 season opener against Austin Peay, when the team scored on its first seven drives.
#11 Joshua Dobbs was 16-of-21 with 129 yards passing and one touchdown. The starting quarterback also recorded 76 rushing yards on 13 attempts and two rushing touchdowns.
#1 Jalen Hurd rushed for 122 yards with two touchdowns on 16 attempts, establishing his first career multi-touchdown game for Tennessee. His 100-plus yard rushing performance is the first for a Tennessee player in a bowl game since Travis Henry ran for 180 yards in the 2001 Cotton Bowl.
Senior #19 Devrin Young returned to action for the first time since Oct. 11 vs. Chattanooga, rushing for 25 yards on four carries.
#9 Von Pearson led the Vols' receiver core with seven catches for 75 yards with one touchdown reception. His seven catches established a new career high.
#12 Nathan Peterman entered the game at quarterback in the fourth quarter.

HOW THEY SCORED

Freshman running back #1 Jalen Hurd rushed for a three-yard touchdown on Tennessee's first possession of the game, putting the Vols on the board first in the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl.
Hurd ran for a 29-yard touchdown on UT's second possession of the game, marking his first career multi-touchdown game. His two rushing TDs also mark the first time for a UT player to record multiple touchdowns in a bowl game since Casey Clausen had three rushing TDs in 2002.
#15 Marlin Lane threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to freshman #4 Vic Wharton. The pass marked a first career touchdown reception for Wharton, as well as a first career touchdown pass for the senior Lane.
#11 Joshua Dobbs ran for an eight-yard touchdown to start the second quarter for the Vols, putting Tennessee ahead, 27-0.
With less than two minutes left in the half, Dobbs completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to #9 Von Pearson, extending the Vols' first-half lead to 34-7.
Dobbs rushed for an 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter, his second rushing touchdown of the bowl game. With two rushing touchdowns, Dobbs became the first UT quarterback to record multiple rushing touchdowns since Casey Clausen did so with two in the 2002 Citrus Bowl.
#25 Aaron Medley kicked a 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, pushing UT ahead 45-14 with eight minutes left in the game. Medley is now 20-of-26 in field goal attempts for Tennessee.
Medley made his six PATs in the bowl contest. On the season, the true freshman kicker is 42-of-43 in PATs for UT.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

Tennessee's defense put up a big stop in the first quarter, forcing an Iowa turnover on downs to receive the ball on the 33-yard line, marking the Vols' second possession of the game.
#34 Jalen Reeves-Maybin lead the Vols defense with 13 total tackles, establishing a new career high for tackles in a single game.
UT held Iowa to 3-of-11 on third down conversions.
#37 Brian Randolph recovered an Iowa fumble in the third quarter, giving his Vols the possession on Iowa's 47-yard line.
#33 LaDarrell McNeil intercepted an Iowa pass in the endzone and returned it to the 7-yard line in the third quarter. The interception marked McNeil's second of the season, third of his career.

SPECIAL TEAMS

PUNTS BY DARR

#43 Matt Darr punted four times for an average of 37.2 yards. On the season, Darr has 29 punts inside the 20-yard line and 21 punts of 50 or more yards.

KELLY JR. LEADING SPECIAL TEAMS

#6 Todd Kelly Jr. recovered three individual onside kick attempts by Iowa in the fourth quarter.

ODDS AND ENDS

VOLS TRENDING

The Vols were trending worldwide on Twitter with the following topics: "Jalen Hurd", "Touchdown Vols", "Brian Randolph" and "Vic Wharton".
The Vols were trending nationally on Twitter with the topics: "Pig Howard", "Dobbs", "#IowaVsTenn", "#TennVsIowa", "Josh Dobbs", "Justin Coleman", "TouchdownTennessee", "Hurd" and "Marlin Lane".

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Originally ruled Iowa's ball at the three-yard line following an out-of-bonds spot, the play was reviewed and ruled an illegal forward pass resulting in a penalty of half the distance to the goal for Iowa.
Originally ruled an Iowa touchdown in the second quarter, the ruling on the field was confirmed following review.

TENNESSEE TIDBITS

In its 118th season of football, UT's all-time record now stands at 811-367-53.
With a won coin toss to Iowa, the Vols chose to defer to the second half of the TaxSlayer Bowl.
With a won coin toss to Iowa, the Vols have now lost 16 of their last 19 flips in regulation play.
UT is 2-1 when winning the coin flip and 5-5 when losing the toss this season.

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