JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It's officially bowl week for the Tennessee Volunteers.
The team flew to Florida on Sunday afternoon and landed in Jacksonville to resume preparations for Friday's meeting with Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl in the program's first bowl game since 2010, when Tennessee lost controversially in double overtime to North Carolina in the Music City Bowl.
The Vols will play in their 50th bowl game against the Hawkeyes on Friday at 3:20 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.
After arriving from Knoxville, players enjoyed a team bowling night, the latest in a series of outings the Vols have had this month as part of the bowl experience.
Tennessee will practice at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida today and Tuesday, while Iowa, which arrived in Jacksonville on Christmas Day, is practicing at Fernandina Beach High School.
Both the Vols and Hawkeyes will have separate team welcome dinners with TaxSlayer Bowl officials tonight and enjoy a beach party on Tuesday afternoon before visiting a local children's hospital on Wednesday following an 11 a.m. news conference.
Tennessee is looking for its first bowl win since beating Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl to cap the 2007 season, and Iowa, playing in its 27th bowl game, is aiming to snap a two-bowl losing skid that dates back to a 27-24 triumph against Missouri in the 2010 Insight Bowl.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.