Top five Tennessee football bowl victories

From Jeff Powell “roaring down the greensward” inside the Louisiana Superdome to Tee Martin’s fourth quarter heave to put the finishing touch on a national championship, Tennessee has plenty of fond postseason memories in its 55 all-time bowl appearances as a program.

The Vols have claimed national titles, pulled off monumental upset victories and solidified national No. 1 rankings in bowl games over the last 92 years.

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Tennessee, which is tied for fifth all-time with Southern California in bowl appearances, will look to add another memory against No. 17 Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando (1 p.m. ET, ABC) next week.

Here is a look at the Vols' top five bowl victories.

In the week leading up to the 52nd Sugar Bowl Classic, Jimmy Johnson was campaigning for his Miami Hurricanes team to finish No. 1 in the major polls.

Then Tennessee made the choice easier for the voters.

There was feeling that maybe the No. 8 Vols—the SEC Champions of the 1985 season—didn't belong on the same field as No. 2 Miami, one of the premier programs of the decade that ran the table in dominant fashion after dropping its season opener to Florida.

By the fourth quarter inside the Louisiana Superdome, Tennessee was the only team that belonged.

Outside of a touchdown that provided the Hurricanes with a brief lead in the first quarter, the Vols were in control to the finish. Tennessee gashed them for 211 rushing yards, none bigger than Jeff Powell's 60-yard score to put the exclamation point on a convincing 35-7 win.

The Vols' defense suffocated Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde and the Hurricanes totaled just 32 rushing yards.

It wasn't for a national championship. Oklahoma claimed that thanks to Tennessee's thumping of Miami, but it was close enough. The Vols skyrocketed to No. 4 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll.

“They were very cocky. I don’t think they respected Tennessee," Powell told reporters after the game. "All this week, Coach (Jimmy) Johnson was talking about the Orange Bowl and who’s going to win, and that they should be national champions because they beat Oklahoma. They should have paid attention to Tennessee.”

Tennessee's "team of destiny" found itself in a familiar spot.

The Vols' path to the inaugural BCS National Championship Game in the Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium was paved in close calls and miracle finishes.

Tennessee needed both to get there.

In just the first two weeks of the season, kicker Jeff Hall had to made two game-winning field goals against Syracuse and Florida. Later, the defense made a goal-line stand and batted down a pass to the end zone in the final seconds to avoid upset at Auburn.

An unbeaten season seemed all but off the table in a November clash with Arkansas. The Razorbacks had the lead and the ball with clock on their side. Instead, Clint Stoerner stumbled after taking a snap and laid the ball on the turf. Tennessee recovered and scored a few plays laster to escape again.

Now, here the Vols were again, clinging to a five-point lead in the fourth quarter against No. 2 Florida State. Quarterback Tee Martin dropped back and flung a pass down the far sideline to Peerless Price, who had a step on the Seminoles' secondary.

Price scored on a play that covered 79 yards and Tennessee had just enough cushion to hold off Florida State late in a 23-16 win that claimed the program's first national title in more than 30 years.

General Robert Neyland's game maxims never rang more true.

Moments after Pat Shires' game-tying extra point sailed right in the fourth quarter of the 1951 Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas, the Tennessee defense forced a fumble and recovered the ball at the Longhorns' 43-yard line.

"If at first the game—or the breaks—go against you, don't let up...Put on more steam."

Andy Kozar ran with a full head of steam five plays later, punching in the go-ahead score with three minutes, 11 seconds remaining. The Vols' defense held again and Tennessee won 20-14 to finish the 1950 season 11-1.

Oklahoma, the Big 8 Conference Champion, was named the No. 1 team and national champions by the major polls at the end of the regular season, but the Sooners lost their Sugar Bowl match up with Kentucky.

It was the same Wildcats team that Neyland's Vols beat, 7-0 in Knoxville just over a month before.

Tennessee did earn national title recognition from a number of NCAA recognized selectors, though including the National Championship Foundation.

Tennessee's 1938 season ended the only way that it could.

The Vols met little resistance on its way to the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 2, 1939. Tennessee finished the regular season 10-0 and outscored opponents, 276-16 and its defense held opponents scoreless in four-straight games.

Tennessee was paired with No. 4 and unbeaten Oklahoma, which had also allowed just 12 points during the regular season while shutting out nine teams.

In a clash of two dominant teams, the Vols were better.

George Cafego rushed for 114 of Tennessee's 197 total yards on the ground while the defense forced multiple turnovers and limited the Sooners to just 94 yards of offense in a 17-0 victory.

A team wouldn't score on the Vols for another 10 games.

The 1938 team was the first of three-straight teams led by General Robert Neyland that finished with undefeated regular seasons and they were the program's first recognized national championship team.

If Ohio State wasn't interested in being in Orlando, it certainly was by the fourth quarter.

In the team functions leading up the Florida Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day 1996, Tennessee players felt like the Buckeyes, who lost to Michigan in their last outing and were bumped from the Rose Bowl, saw the Citrus Bowl as nothing more than a consolation prize.

The Vols viewed differently and it showed.

Tennessee, which saw its SEC and national championship hopes slip away in a loss to Florida in September, finished the regular season as one of the best teams in college football and wanted to prove as much against Ohio State.

The Buckeyes were led by Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George and a star-studded roster that went on to lengthy NFL careers. They led early and were hovering around the goal line late in the second quarter looking to go ahead by two scores.

Bill Duff stuffed George on fourth-and-inches and Jay Graham rushed 69 yards for a touchdown just before halftime to even the score.

Peyton Manning gave Tennessee its first lead with a touchdown pass to Joey Kent and two Jeff Hall field goals and Ohio State turnovers on three of its last four possessions led to a 20-14 win to finish the 1995 season 11-1.

"People say that maybe Ohio State wasn’t motivated going into the game but as the game got going, you couldn’t tell me they weren’t motivated to win," Kent told VolReport earlier this month. "I loved playing in that game. It was so enjoyable to get that victory over Ohio State."

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