TAMPA, Fla. – Tennessee lost four games by 17 combined points.
Northwestern lost half as many games by four times as many points.
Neither the Volunteers nor the Wildcats have lost since mid-October heading into Friday’s Outback Bowl, and both head coaches spent part of their joint news conference Tuesday touting the ability of their teams to bounce back from those losses and finish strong.
UT’s Jalen Hurd (1) runs the ball in for a touchdown against Oklahoma’s while in overtime play Saturday. The Volunteers lost to the Sooner’s at home with a final score of 24-31 on September 12, 2015 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. “A lot of times you can learn much more from losses,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “Those are all learning opportunities. You learn through adversity. Sometimes when you win things are swept under the table, but really it comes down to the character that you have in your football program.”
The Vols’ close losses have been well-documented. Tennessee led late in the fourth quarter of three of them and by two touchdowns in the other. The missed opportunities arguably are the story of the team’s 2015 season.
However, Tennessee overcame those disappointments to finish strong against the easier portion of the schedule.
“They were gut-wrenching losses,” Jones said. “A lot of times, particularly being in Knoxville, you can let the noises and the distractions creep in, and I was really proud of our players, the way they responded. They had no choice.”
Northwestern started 5-0 before losing two games by a combined 68 points.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. We didn’t lose any games this year,” Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald joked. “That’s what we did. I mean, you’ve got to flush it, you’ve got to move on and you’ve just got to have a short memory.
“You’ve got to learn from the experiences, and you can’t duplicate them.”
In a 38-0 loss at Michigan, Northwestern gave up two non-offensive touchdowns – including a return touchdown on the game’s opening kickoff – and managed just 168 yards of total offense.
A week later against Iowa, the Wildcats trailed 16-10 at halftime, but the Hawkeyes scored on their opening possession of the second half, turned a fumble into a short touchdown drive and won 40-10.
Fitzgerald said Northwestern “got our fanny whipped” in Ann Arbor and Iowa “kicked our butt in all three phases,” but the Wildcats recovered to win their final five games.
“We looked at the team and said, ‘We’ve got to make a decision who we’re going to be,'” he said. “‘Are we going to be the team that started off 5-0 and beat a (Stanford) team that’s playing in the Rose Bowl and a (Duke) team that just won a bowl game, or are we going to be the team that decided not to show up and play?’
“They didn’t really have a choice, and we were able to go there because of leadership.”
Special matchup
Both coaches and programs heavily emphasize special teams, and it’s been evident this season.
Tennessee led the nation in kickoff-return average, and Northwestern ranks 13th.
The Vols were second nationally in punt-return average, and the Wildcats are fourth in punt-return defense.
Tennessee’s Evan Berry returned three kickoffs for scores, and Northwestern’s Solomon Vault had two TD returns.
“We knew starting the season that special teams would have to impact the game for us,” Jones said. “I’m proud of our players and the way they’ve bought in.”
Fitzgerald said he starts his weekly video review of the upcoming opponent with the special teams tape.
“We’ll see some teams that we both play that they’re flavor-of-the-week special teams,” he added. “They’re all over the place. They have no tendencies, and you know you’re going to probably play pretty well against them, because I doubt their kids really know what they’re doing, because their coaches are really drawing it up on napkins throughout the week.
“When you watch our two teams, it’s probably pretty boring, because we do what we do and we execute, we’re fundamentally sound and the kids play their tails off.”
Tennessee tidbits
Receiver Jason Croom is moving to tight end. The 6-foot-5, 246-pounder missed the entire season after knee surgery in August. After catching 21 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns in 2014, he dislocated his kneecap during bowl practice.
Croom returned to the practice field this month and ran routes as a tight end during practices in Knoxville.
* Northwestern cornerback Nick VanHoose (finger) won’t play Friday after suffering an injury in bowl prep earlier this month. He had 41 tackles, three interceptions and 12 pass breakups this season. Keith Watkins is expected to start.
* Fitzgerald on Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs: “We’ve watched every game, and he’s the real deal.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.