Tennessee routs No. 12 Northwestern 45-6 in Outback Bowl

The Volunteers, an eight-point favorite, will be looking to defend their home field when Northwestern visits.

Facts & figures • MI won each of the two previous meetings, taking the 2003 Outback Bowl and 2008 Citrus Bowl…. On the ground, the Volunteers average 223.5 yards per game in which Jalen Hurd tops with 1,158 yards and 11 touchdowns.

And Hurd took charge of the offense in the second half and dominated with his third consecutive game with at least 100 yards.

With an offense that does not put up a bunch of points Northwestern had to rely heavily on its defense. Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer is 9-2 in bowl games…. (34) for a touchdown during the second quarter of the Outback Bowl NCAA college football game Friday, …

Even if you remove this game from the equation for a moment, though, Tennessee still cuts the profile of a contender next year.

The Vols (9-4) won their fifth straight game to close the season.

Can Tennessee continue its roll in the Outback Bowl against a Northwestern squad that, judging by the difference between its offense and defense, is the most one-sided team the SEC will face in this bowl season?

Now the ‘Cats and Vols meet in a game that will serve as a final rankings boost for the victor, momentum for the offseason, and a feather in the hat of either the Big Ten or the SEC. Overall, the SEC is 14-12 in the bowl.

Covers Wisconsin and Big Ten.

Take the Outback Bowl result with a grain of salt if you want; that’s probably the wise thing to do.

Northwestern could have finished their season in a much worse way. I know that’s a different team, but it proved to me that the bowl game meant something to the Volunteers. Every single one of those teams finished with a losing record, and only UConn made a bowl game among that bunch. The Wildcats outscored their opponents 98-41 in the second quarter in 2015, but had only a 51-point scoring advantage for the entire season – 248-197. In its three losses – Michigan, Iowa and Tennessee – he had 129.

Northwestern’s regular season was all positive except for 2 midseason blowouts to the hands of MI and Iowa. Tennessee averaged 223.5 rushing yards per game, while the Wildcats gave up a fraction of that per game.

“Their d-line was pretty good, their back end was solid, and they didn’t make a lot of mistakes”, Thorson said of the Tennessee defense.

Northwestern answered on its next drive when Justin Jackson ran in from five-yards out. Northwestern ranks 11th in the country in total defense and gave up fewer than 100 rushing yards in seven of its 12 games this season.

Both teams depend on their rushing attacks with multi-purpose quarterbacks and 1,000-yard sophomore running backs leading the way. The sophomore running back converted a big fourth-down attempt by the Cats, gained 16 yards on the ensuing carry and scored from five yards out to cap the touchdown drive.

566 Punt-return yards have been compiled by Tennessee this season, the most in the nation entering the bowl schedule.

OLE MISS QB Chad Kelly has thrown for 3,740 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season, generally improving as the year has progressed.