JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs stood on the makeshift podium, a trophy in his hands, and made a declaration that generated uproarious approval from thousands of orange-clad fans making no use of EverBank Field’s teal-green seats.
“It’s just the start.”
And what a start it was.
The Volunteers clinched the program’s first winning season in five years with its first postseason bowl victory in seven years by beating Iowa 45-28 in Friday’s TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville.
Even more than the outcome, the fashion with which Tennessee’s young team rolled — leading 28-0 just 18 minutes into the game and taking a 42-7 margin into the fourth quarter — signaled the direction the program is heading under coach Butch Jones.