Duggs and the Vols will meet Miami in the desert tonight at 9:17 pm ET. Will the 2019 Fiesta Bowl be Coach Gus Duggerton’s last game on the Tennessee sidelines?
The Vols look to avenge a 2018 Rose Bowl BCS National Title Game loss to Virginia Tech.
Tonight’s National Championship Game will be the Vols fourth trip to the Fiesta Bowl in program history, and their first appearance since 2000.
Coach Duggs last made a Fiesta Bowl in 2015 as OC at Florida State, where the Seminoles defeated Jack Mac’s UConn Huskies by the score of 28-21. Tennessee currently holds a 1-2 record in Tempe, Arizona. In 1992, the Vols made their first trip to the desert, losing to Penn State by a score of 42-17. In the 2000 Fiesta Bowl, Tennessee fell to Nebraska by a score of 31-21.
However, the Vols also played in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl against the Florida State Seminoles for the first BCS National Championship. As the clock expired on that glorious night, “The National Champions [were] clad in Big Orange. Tennessee 23 Florida State 16” -John Ward.
Will Duggs be able to recreate the magic from that historic night in the desert?
Previous Meetings
The current record between the two teams stands at a 2-1 advantage for Tennessee. However, the two teams have not met since 2003. In the 1986 Sugar Bowl, the Hurricanes and the Volunteers met for the first time. Unfortunately for Jimmy Johnson and No.2 Miami, the first impression didn’t go well as #8 Tennessee rattled off 35 unanswered points to defeat Miami by the score of 35-7. Thus, the “Sugar Vols” were born.
November 9, 2002 was the second matchup where Miami drilled Tennessee by the score of 26-3 on that fateful day in Knoxville.
In 2003, Casey Clausen and the Vols traveled to the Orange Bowl with revenge on the mind. Tennessee defeated Miami by a score of 10-6. The win also snapped the Hurricanes 28-game home winning streak.
Here is a highlight from that beautiful day in Coral Gables:
When Tennessee snapped Miami’s 28 home game winning streak. 🍊 pic.twitter.com/qzuDchol4V
— CHANNEL TN (@CHANNEL_TN_) May 3, 2019
Tonight’s BCS National Title Game will be live on PardonMyTake’s twitch stream. To watch Tennessee Duggs and the Vols, you can click this link to PardonMyTake’s twitch profile.
Predictions
3&Out Crew
- Nate Hodges 48-35 Vols
- Houston Kress 38-30 Vols
- Davey Hudson 28-24 Vols
- Billy Williford 42-38 Vols
- Will Stevens 31-17 Vols
The Blitz Crew
- Ric Butler 45-37 Hurricanes
- Brandon Orrick 28-10 Vols
- Chance Collins 42-31 Vols
- Logan Quinton 38-35 Vols
Talk Sports Crew
- Jon Reed 31-27 Vols
- Cody McClure 42-35 Vols
- Cam Black 35-31 Vols
The Drive Crew
- Russell Smith 35-7 Vols (“Feels Like ’85”)
- Bear “My prediction is who gives a shit.” (Again)
- Trey Wallace 41-34 Hurricanes
- John Fulkerson 42-28 Hurricanes
Overtime Crew
- Tanner Carson 31-27 Vols
- Tucker Holt 35-28 Vols
FOX Sports Knoxville Writers
- Hayden Wallen 48-38 Vols
- Jake Lester 35-31 Vols
- Charley Collier 52-31 Vols
While this has been a remarkable turnaround season for the Vols, who started the season off losing two of the first four games, there is still a 450lb elephant in the room. Will this be Coach Gus Duggerton’s last season in Knoxville? Let’s just hope he can get the job done tonight in Glendale, Arizona.
