The Tennessee Volunteers traveled to sunny Tampa to take on the Northwestern Wildcats in the Outback Bowl on New Years Day. The first quarter had nail-biter written all over it, but a couple of turnovers by the Cats and a beast day for Jalen Hurd was too much for Northwestern to handle as Tennessee marched to a 45-6 victory. Here’s a quick scoring recap for the day.
1st Quarter
VOLS: 14-Yard TD run by Joshua Dobbs (:14) 7-0
2nd Quarter
VOLS: 35-Yard FG by Aaron Medley (10:47) 10-0
NORTHWESTERN: 5-Yard TD run by Justin Jackson, PAT NO GOOD (5:40) 10-6
VOLS: 11-yard TD run by Alvin Kamara (2:18) 17-6
3rd Quarter
VOLS: 4-Yard TD run by Jalen Hurd (4:40) 24-6
4th Quarter
VOLS: 18-yard TD run by Joshua Dobbs (11:42) 31-6
VOLS: 1-yard TD run by John Kelly (4:24) 38-6
VOLS: 100-yard INT return for TD by Evan Berry (:8) 45-6
Here are the final stats for the game:
FINAL SCORE: Vols 45 Northwestern 6 pic.twitter.com/lWs53l90dc
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) January 1, 2016
Honestly, the first quarter looked like it might be a close one. Both teams struggled to get much going their first few drives, and early penalties made it look messy. After Tennessee settled down though, it was all Vols. After scoring 17 points in the first half yet again, the big orange put the pedal to the metal on offense and created an orange wall on defense.
Tennessee’s defense only allowed one touchdown and 261 total yards. They also reeled in four interceptions, which proved extremely difficult for Northwestern to overcome. The defensive line was in the face of Clayton Thorson all game long and while he made the occasional big play, the orange swarm was in full effect.
The Volunteers offense struggled early, but the scheme offensive coordinator Mike DeBord put together eventually broke down Northwestern’s #11 defense. Tennessee ran the ball very well and allocated 226 yards and all five of the offensive touchdowns. The victory marks the sixth straight of the season for Butch Jones and the Tennessee Volunteers and after making such a statement, Tennessee could finish the season around 15th and may even start the 2017 season ranked just as high.
