UTopia Vols National Champions

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The team of destiny proved it was no fluke. "Destiny is something that's been determined but hasn't yet come about," Tennessee kicker Jeff Hall said last week. Top-ranked Tennessee went from destiny to history here Monday night before a Fiesta Bowl crowd of 80,470. The Vols played perhaps the biggest game of their school's storied football history, posting an unexpected 23-16 victory over second-ranked Florida State and securing their first national championship since Gen. Robert Neyland's 1951 team. Right in the middle of it was senior wide receiver Peerless Price, who had his share of adjustments off and on in the early going of fall camp. Receivers coach Pat Washington had reminded Price that this might not be a typical year for a Vol receiver. The Vols, after all, were breaking in a new quarterback for the first time in three seasons. The prized receiver showed a little patience early and it came back to him in a big way last night. Price had but four catches, but the Dayton, Ohio, product made the most of them, getting 199 yards and a touchdown. "Peerless, from the outset, has been an outstanding receiver, but there's not a senior on this team that hasn't stepped up at one time or another," said Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer. "I'd like to thank all of them for their leadership, and I'd like to thank the wonderful fans of Tennessee for coming out here with us." What Price and Martin didn't do, the defense did, holding the Seminoles to 108 rushing yards and 253 total yards, intercepting two passes and forcing four fumbles, recovering one. They limited FSU standout receiver Peter Warrick to one catch and sacked Seminoles quarterback Marcus Outzen four times. Tennessee led from the outset, forging a 14-0 lead, going in at the half up 14-9, struggling through a scoreless third quarter and exploding in the final quarter for the victory. Price's 76-yard reception from quarterback Tee Martin -- who is 13-0 as the starter succeeding legend Peyton Manning -- set up a 4-yard scoring pass from Martin to Shawn Bryson. He and Martin gave Tennessee some breathing room -- they were still up 14-9 -- with a Fiesta-record, perfectly placed 79-yard bomb along the Vols' sideline. All of both teams' first-half points came in the second quarter. Tennessee had a shot at a first-quarter score, but Hall misfired on a 33-yard field goal 4:50 into the game. The Vols finally broke the scoring ice five seconds into the second quarter, but there was one big first-quarter play in the 88-yard drive -- the 76-yard bomb from Martin to Price to the FSU 12. It was, at the time, the longest completion given up all season by the Seminoles. The Vols had settled for a field goal from Hall but took it off the board after FSU was flagged for roughing the kicker. Martin found fullback Bryson for the touchdown five seconds into the second quarter and Hall added the extra point. The Vols quickly made it 14-0 when cornerback Dwayne Goodrich stepped in front of Warrick, intercepted an Outzen pass and raced it back 54 yards. Hall's extra point split the uprights with with 13:40 still to play. It was the first interception returned for a touchdown by an FSU opponent since Miami's Carlos Jones returned one 16 yards in 1994. The Seminoles rallied against the Vols' stubborn defense, but only after cornerback Derrick Gibson raced 43 yards with an interception of Martin to UT's 3. It took three plays before backup fullback William McCray scored from 1 yard out. However, on the point-after try by Sebastian Janikowski, FSU was hit with a motion penalty that backed the ball out 5 yards. Then Janikowski had to try a kick from a low and mishandled snap and his effort smack-dabbed the crossbar and bounded awry, leaving his team down 14-6 and him with only his second miss of the year in 44 attempts. Janikowski, however, pulled his team within five points at 14-9 with a 34-yard field goal. It capped a 10-play, 10-yard drive that took 4:33. The two teams pulled a first-quarter repeat in the third quarter, neither UT nor FSU actually posing a serious threat. The Vols had a great shot to break the game open, but the opportunity was snuffed when Martin's pass was snatched out of the juggling hands of Price in the FSU end zone by Dexter Jackson. The pass hit Price right in the numbers. Price, though, made up for it just a couple of minutes later, leaving a defender behind and hauling in his second bomb from Martin -- this one for the Fiesta Bowl record 79 yards -- to put the Vols up 20-9 with 9:17 to play. The drive, covering 80 yards, took 1:24 in three plays. End Shawn Ellis then forced an Outzen fumble, recovered by Billy Ratliff, and UT upped its lead to 23-9 with a 23-yard field goal. It came in handy as Outzen closed FSU within seven (23-16) on a 7-yard run with 3:42 left in the game. The two teams then swapped turnovers in the final three minutes with cornerback Steve Johnson's interception giving UT the ball back close to mindfield with little more than 90 seconds remaining.