KNOXVILLE – Front and center on the home page of the Outback Bowl’s official website are photos of players from four Big Ten Conference teams and four Southeastern Conference teams.
Included in that group is Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs.
The Volunteers hope to land in the 30th edition of the New Year’s Day bowl in Tampa, Fla., when the SEC’s bowl selection process plays itself out Sunday. The interest from the Outback Bowl appears to be mutual.
Jim McVay, the bowl’s president and CEO, gave a simple answer when asked what was attractive about the Vols during a phone interview Wednesday.
“Everything,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s a really good, good football team. They have dynamic players. They have tough players. They have excellent coaching. You have a team that is really ascending. If you look at a couple of those losses, very easily (they) could have been the other way around. This is, we think, a very strong football team.
“Everything about Tennessee – the athletic director Dave (Hart) is a terrific person to work with, and then of course the Tennessee fans, the bands, the cheerleaders, the culture of college football in Knoxville and Tennessee – just everything about that program is attractive to all the bowls.”
The SEC changed its process for bowl games last season with the introduction of the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six bowl games. Here’s how it works:
‘ The CFP selection committee releases its final rankings and slots the six biggest bowls, including the two national semifinals. The SEC champion goes either into the four-team playoff or the Sugar Bowl. The league can get multiple teams into those non-playoff bowls, as it did last year with Ole Miss and Mississippi State, if they are are ranked high enough.
‘ The Citrus Bowl, the only game to have representatives in attendance for Tennessee’s game against Vanderbilt last week, then makes its pick.
‘ After consulting with the bowl committees and the universities – each side submits its top three preferences – the SEC then slots the Outback, TaxSlayer, Belk, Music City, Texas and Liberty Bowls.
‘ The Birmingham Bowl and Independence Bowl, in that order, pick from what’s left.
“The system is fine,” McVay said. “Last year we had two really good football teams go after each other with Auburn and Wisconsin. It was an overtime game, and it was just wild. The players from these schools, winning football games and being showcased on New Year’s Day is important to them. They always put on a great show.
“We’re tied in with the SEC and the Big Ten for a reason. We think those are the best conferences with the most teams that are tradition-rich, that have great football followings, that have huge national audiences. We are pleased with the system. Things always seem to work out for the Outback Bowl.”
Tennessee, which debuted at No. 25 in the CFP rankings released Tuesday night, is trying to position itself for the Outback Bowl. The game’s payout is more than $3 million, one of the highest among the non-CFP bowls. The Vols are likely to face a ranked opponent.
According to his contract, Tennessee coach Butch Jones actually gets double the bowl bonus ($200,000) if Tennessee goes to the Outback or Citrus Bowl instead of any other non-CFP bowl.
Multiple projections from national media outlets have Tennessee facing Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.
“You look for really, really good, deserving football teams,” McVay said, “and when they have fan bases and the culture and the support, like the Tennessee fans are, which is really special, that’s just a big added plus, certainly.”
In all likelihood, Alabama will beat Florida in Saturday’s SEC championship game and land in the playoff, sending Ole Miss, ranked five spots ahead of the Gators, to the Sugar Bowl.
If the Citrus takes the Gators, it likely improves Tennessee’s chances of going to the Outback over LSU, which played in Tampa two years ago, and Georgia. If the Citrus goes another direction, though, it may entice the Outback to take the nearby Gators.
That could mean Tennessee winds up in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte or the Music City Bowl in Nashville.
“We’re hurrying up and waiting,” McVay said. “We can’t move the process any faster. We’ve watched every game of every team in the SEC and the Big Ten. We have all of our information. We have all of our contacts. There’s communication flying all over the country right now. This is a big important decision for a lot of people.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.