Tennessee holds off Nebraska, winning the Music City Bowl.
Josh Dobbs had a terrific game. His final stats were 23 of 38 passing for 291 yards and one touchdown. Dobbs also had 11 carries for 118 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 409 yards of total offense. Dobbs set a Music City Bowl record with three touchdowns rushing. It certainly was a great way for the senior to finish his career at Tennessee.
With the 38-24 win over Nebraska, it was Tennessee’s first win over Nebraska. The two storied programs had met two times prior in the late 1990’s, but Nebraska won both games. Nebraska was without quarterback Tommy Armstrong, as Ryker Fyfe took his place. Fyfe passed for two touchdowns and 243 yards — a solid effort in relief of Armstrong.
Tennessee outgained Nebraska 521-318 in total offense. The big takeaway from this is that when Nebraska scored, Dobbs took the Vols offense and answered each Husker score with one of their own. After a 14-0 lead late in the second quarter, Nebraska finally got on the board with a touchdown. Dobbs, however lead the vols down the field and scrambled in from two yards out. That gave Tennessee the 21-7 halftime advantage. After a 46 yard field goal by Aaron Medley, Nebraska drove down the field quickly, making it 24-14. Tennessee again answered thanks to Dobbs’ 3 yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
After a Nebraska field goal, Tennessee would fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Nebraska would take advantage of it a few players later with a touchdown. At 31-24, Vols fans everywhere were nervous. Dobbs calmed those nerves, answering again with a beautiful 59 yard touchdown pass to Josh Malone. With 3:29 to go in the game, history was made for Tennessee football. Derek Barnett sacked Fyfe, making him the all time sack leader at Tennessee. This gave him 33 sacks, moving him past the “Minister of Defense” and legendary Reggie White. Head coach Butch Jones took a timeout so the team could celebrate the huge accomplishment with him.
This was a season full of expectations, and while it didn’t happen, it’s good this team finished on a high note. Dobbs is leaving Tennessee with a great game. Not to mention, he finishes 13 yards shy of tying Peyton Manning‘s single season record for total yards in a season. Even though Barnett is a junior, he most likely won’t be back next year, so it’s also good to send him out on a historical note.
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