KNOXVILLE - Tennessee is bowl eligible for the fifth time this decade, with the Volunteers (7-5) one victory above the minimum after winning five straight games and six of their past seven to finish the regular season.
Sunday afternoon, they will find out their bowl destination, with any number of options still on the table.
Today, the Times Free Press takes a look back at the program's other postseason appearances this decade, with the number listed indicating the season and not necessarily the year in which the bowl game was played.
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) and defensive end Derek Barnett cheer after directing the Pride of the Southland Band at the close of their Music City Bowl victory against Nebraska on Dec. 30, 2016, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. The Vols beat the Cornhuskers 38-24. / Staff file photo2016 (Music City Bowl, 38-24 win over Nebraska)
Ranked No. 9 in the country at one point, the Vols had dealt with a disappointing finish to their regular season. After a 5-0 start, Tennessee lost four of its next seven games, including a defeat at Vanderbilt in the finale when a win could have secured a Sugar Bowl bid. Instead, the Vols ended up returning to Nashville but showed up in the bowl game, putting together a dominant offensive performance by piling up 521 yards, including 409 by quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who had three touchdown runs and a 59-yard pass to Josh Malone for the game's final touchdown. Current Tennessee senior Jauan Jennings, who will miss the first half of the Vols' bowl game this season due to a suspension issued by the Southeastern Conference, had 59 yards on six catches that day.
Tennessee football fans Glen Austin, bottom right, and Keisha Salinas, in orange, scream in celebration at Mike's Hole In The Wall as Vols running back Jalen Hurd scores a 3-yard touchdown in the third quarter of the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 1, 2016. Fans Julissa Richmond, left, and Garit Sullivan, back center, signal touchdown with their hands held high as well. Tennessee beat Northwestern 45-6. / Staff photo by Tim Barber2015 (Outback Bowl, 45-6 win over Northwestern)
It felt like the beginning of something special for Tennessee heading into the offseason, with this win the Vols' fifth straight. They dominated the Wildcats on both sides of the ball, racking up 430 yards of offense while limiting Northwestern to just 261, and the margin of victory was Vols' largest in a bowl in program history. Leading the way was Jalen Hurd, who rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown to earn game MVP honors. Dobbs had 214 yards of total offense and two rushing scores, and the Tennessee defense totaled four sacks and intercepted four passes, with Evan Berry returning a pick 100 yards for a score.
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs hands off to running back Jalen Hurd during the Vols' 29-21 loss to Missouri on Nov. 22, 2014, at Neyland Stadium. It was the only loss in the Vols' 3-1 stretch to finish that regular season that helped them reach postseason eligibility, leading to a trip to the Taxslayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., where they beat Iowa 45-28. / Staff file photo2014 (TaxSlayer Bowl, 45-28 win over Iowa)
Dobbs had two touchdown runs and one touchdown pass, and Hurd ran for two scores and 122 of the Vols' 283 rushing yards in a game they led 28-0 early in the second quarter and 42-7 entering the fourth. Tennessee's first postseason victory since the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day 2008 came after it won three of its final four regular-season games - beating South Carolina in overtime, routing Kentucky and triumphing by a touchdown at Vanderbilt - just to become bowl eligible.
Tennessee defensive end Malik Jackson kneels in agony after losing to North Carolina 30-27 in double overtime in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30, 2010, in Nashville. / AP Photo by Mark Humphrey2010 (Music City Bowl, 30-27 double-overtime loss to North Carolina)
Tennessee had overcome a 2-6 start to the season - which included a heartbreaking loss at LSU - by winning its final four games to become bowl eligible and earn a trip to Nashville to face the Tar Heels. Tennessee thought it had won 20-17 after time expired with the Tar Heels unable to spike the ball before the clock reached zero at the end of the fourth quarter. However, game officials ruled North Carolina had "more than 11 men" on the field before the final play, a penalty against the Heels that helped them by putting one second on the clock, which allowed Casey Barth to kick a game-tying 39-yard field goal and force overtime. In the second OT period, Tyler Bray threw an interception, allowing Barth to kick a 23-yard field goal for the win.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.