The Tennessee Volunteers (8-4, 4-4) found their bowl opponent in Iowa on Sunday morning. Here’s a comprehensive overview of both teams.
This afternoon, Tennessee was handed their bowl match. The Iowa Hawkeyes and Volunteers will square off in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. The bowl game will kick off the 2024 calendar year on January 1st. The Tennessee Volunteers were informed of their opponent at approximately 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, dispelling rumors that they would play in either the ReliaQuest Bowl or the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Everything you require is provided here.
At the moment, Iowa is ranked #17 in the country and is 10-3. They have triumphed over a number of universities, including Rutgers, Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa State, Utah, and Western Michigan. Additionally, they lost to Michigan in the conference final and to Penn State and Minnesota in the regular season. With running backs Leshon Williams and Kaleb Johnson, they are a run-heavy team, so expect them to try to wear down the Volunteers on the ground all game long.
Tennessee is presently ranked #21 in the country with an 8-4 record. They have defeated Florida, Alabama, Missouri, and Georgia, and they have triumphed over Virginia, Austin Peay, UTSA, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Kentucky, UCONN, and Vanderbilt. Tennessee is a well-rounded team, and you could see graduate quarterback Joe Milton take deep shots or even see junior back Jaylen Wright run the ball quite a bit. In order to avoid the pressure of having to play from behind against a very strong Iowa rushing attack, the Vols will attempt to get ahead of the Hawkeyes early in the game.
There have been previous meetings between these two teams dating back to 1982 and as recently as 2015. With a two-game winning streak and a 2-1 lead in the series, the Volunteers have defeated their opponents 45-28, including in the 2015 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl thanks to a standout performance from Joshua Dobbs. In addition to his 16–21, 129–yard passing total with a touchdown and an interception, Dobbs also recorded 76 yards on 13 rushes, including two touchdowns. Jalen Hurd, the running back, also had an excellent performance, amassing 122 yards and two touchdowns. LaDarrell McNeil also had an interception in this game, and Von Pearson also had seven receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown.
