KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the 54th time in program history, Tennessee football is bowl bound as the Volunteers will face West Virginia in the 62nd edition of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT on New Year’s Eve in Memphis’ Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

The Dec. 31 contest will be televised live by ESPN. Tickets for the game are available through the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at libertybowl.org.

“I’m thrilled about our football program’s opportunity to compete in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against a great opponent like West Virginia,” Tennessee Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer said. “First, it’s an opportunity to connect with our many fans throughout West Tennessee and expand upon the rich historical links between the Memphis area and UT. We have so much Tennessee family in and around Memphis—especially our medical school and fantastic alumni. And secondly, it’s a tremendous development opportunity for our team and should serve as a primer to spring practice for Coach Pruitt and our returners.

“We all know Memphis loves the Tennessee Vols, and it’s an important stronghold for all of our athletic and academic programs.”

Tennessee will be playing in its second straight bowl, while its 54 all-time bowl appearances rank fourth nationally. The Vols (3-7) and Mountaineers (5-4) are slated to square off for the second time and first since the 2018 season-opener in Charlotte.

“We look forward to the opportunity of playing a bowl game in our home state,” Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “Since we returned to campus this summer, I am proud of our team in how they have navigated through the challenges presented during this unique season. They get another chance to take the field against a very good opponent in West Virginia. We know Memphis is a special place for Vol fans, and we look forward to seeing them on New Year’s Eve in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.”

Tennessee completed its 10-game SEC regular season on Saturday, recording victories against South Carolina, Missouri and Vanderbilt. For the first time in school history, the Vols faced four or more top-five ranked opponents at the time of the meeting.

Tennessee is playing in its fourth AutoZone Liberty Bowl and first since 1986 when the Vols defeated Minnesota, 21-14. UT’s other AutoZone Liberty Bowl victories occurred in 1974 when it beat Maryland, 7-3, and in 1971 when it edged Arkansas, 14-13.

-UT Athletics

BIRMNGHAM, Alabama (December 20, 2020) – Twelve Southeastern Conference football teams learned their post-season bowl destinations on Sunday, including No. 1-ranked Alabama which will play No. 4 Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on January 1 in a semifinal game for the College Football Playoff. In addition, three other SEC teams will play in the CFP’s New Year’s Six Games.

On Sunday, the College Football Playoff committee first selected teams for the national semifinal games, the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl presented by Capital One. The committee later announced the participants in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Playstation Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl and Goodyear Cotton Bowl.

In addition to Alabama’s appearance in the CFP Semifinal Game, other New Year’s Six games will feature Texas A&M versus North Carolina in the Orange Bowl, Florida versus Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl and Georgia versus Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl.

Next, the VRBO Citrus Bowl selected Auburn from the SEC to play Northwestern of the Big Ten.

This marks the seventh year the Conference has assigned league schools to an “SEC Bowl Pool” that includes six postseason games. The Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl in Houston, the TransPerfect Music City Bowl in Nashville, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville and the Outback Bowl in Tampa have been in the SEC Bowl Pool all six years. This year, the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl joins the SEC Bowl Pool for only the 2020 postseason.

For assignment of bowl games, SEC teams were ranked, without regard to divisions, based on winning percentage and after application of tie breakers. Based upon this ranked order, each team was asked to select its bowl destination based on available remaining bowls.

Missouri will play in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl, Ole Miss will play in the Outback Bowl, Kentucky will play in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, Arkansas will play in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl, Tennessee will play in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and Mississippi State will play in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Following the SEC Bowl Pool, the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl selected South Carolina.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF BOWLS

Rose Bowl presented by Capital One (Arlington) – Alabama vs. Notre Dame – Jan. 1 – 5 pm ET / 4 CT – ESPN

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta) – Georgia vs. Cincinnati – Jan. 1 – 12:30 pm ET / 11:30 am CT – ESPN

Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami) – Texas A&M vs. North Carolina – Jan. 2 – 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT – ESPN

Goodyear Cotton Bowl (Dallas) – Florida vs. Oklahoma – Dec. 30 – 7:15 pm ET / 6:15 pm CT – ESPN

SEC-AFFILIATED BOWLS:

VRBO Citrus Bowl (Orlando) – Auburn vs. Northwestern – Jan. 1 – 1 pm ET / Noon CT – ABC

SEC Bowl Pool:

TransPerfect Music City Bowl (Nashville) – Missouri vs. Big Ten – Dec. 30 – 3:30 pm ET / 2:30 pm CT – ESPN

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth) – Mississippi State vs. AAC – Dec. 31 – Noon ET / 11 am CT – ESPN

AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis) – Tennessee vs. Big 12 – Dec. 31 – 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT – ESPN

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (Houston) – Arkansas vs. Big 12 – Dec. 31 – 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT – ESPN

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) – Kentucky vs. ACC – Jan. 2 – Noon ET / 11 am CT – ESPN

Outback Bowl (Tampa) – Ole Miss vs. Big Ten – Jan. 2 – 12:30 pm ET / 11:30 am CT – ABC

Additional SEC-Affiliated Bowl:

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa) – South Carolina vs. CUSA – Dec. 26 – Noon ET / 11 am CT – ABC

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee got touchdown passes from Harrison Bailey and J.T. Shrout in the first half, but the Vols were unable to keep pace in falling 34-13 to fifth-ranked Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium.

Bailey, a true freshman, had a 33-yard touchdown pass on the game’s opening drive and finished the day 6-of-6 for 85 yards. Redshirt sophomore J.T. Shrout added a 46-yard strike with a sensational catch by redshirt sophomore wide receiver Cedric Tillman in the second quarter and ended the game 6-of-14 for 104 yards. Tillman led all UT receivers with 61 yards on two catches.

Defensively, three Vol sophomores racked up 10 or more tackles vs. the Aggies (8-1). Linebacker Henry To’o To’o accumulated a career-high 13 stops, including nine solos. It marked the second game in a row and third this season in which he recorded 10 or more tackles. Fellow linebacker Quavaris Crouch and safety Jaylen McCollough added 11 each for career highs. Junior cornerback Alontae Taylor thwarted a drive with his first pick of the season.

Tennessee (3-7) opened the game with a touchdown on its opening drive for just the second time this season, as Bailey engineered a five-play, 75-yard drive that took only 2:32 off the clock. Bailey was 3-of-3 passing for 64 yards on the march, with tight ends Princeton Fant and Jacob Warren accounting for 48 yards of it. Warren’s 33-yard scoring reception, the first TD of his career and longest reception, was the capper. Toby Wilson added the PAT to put UT on top, 7-0, with 12:28 to go in the opening stanza.

Texas A&M responded on its first possession of the game, also covering 75 yards, but in 10 plays, to get on the scoreboard with 6:32 remaining in the first quarter. Quarterback Kellen Mond, who was 4-for-4 passing on the series for 53 yards, put the Aggies on the board with his legs, scrambling in from five yards out. Seth Small added the extra point to knot the score at seven.

A&M moved in front with 13:17 to go in the second frame, as running back Isaiah Spiller rammed his way into the end zone from three yards out. Small booted the PAT to make it 14-7 Aggies after a 12-play, 69-yard drive that included Spiller accounting for 14 yards on five rushes and 28 yards via a pair of pass receptions.

Texas A&M started its next series at the UT 39, thanks to a strip sack of Bailey by defensive end DeMarvin Leal and a recovery by linebacker Andre White Jr.  The Vol defense stiffened in the red zone, however, limiting the Aggies to a 23-yard Small field goal that extended the visitors’ lead to 17-7 with 5:52 remaining in the first half.

Shrout came on in place of Bailey for UT’s fourth series of the game. He made quick work of the A&M defense, putting the exclamation point on a four-play, 75-yard drive with a 46-yard deep ball that a fully-extended Tillman impressively snared while being interfered with in the checkerboard. It was Tillman’s first TD grab of the season and the second of his career. Wilson’s PAT was no good after hitting the right upright, making the score 17-13 Aggies with 4:08 to go in the half.

After an incomplete third-down pass, the Vols appeared to have forced a Texas A&M punt late in the second quarter, but an unnecessary roughness penalty on the play extended the drive. The Aggies took full advantage, tacking on another score. A 4-yard pass from Mond to running back Ainias Smith, followed by the PAT from Small, pushed the lead to 24-13 with 18 seconds left before intermission.

With A&M moving deep into Tennessee’s territory late in third quarter, Taylor picked off Mond in the end zone and returned the ball to the UT 45. That marked only the third interception of the season for the Aggie signal-caller and his team’s first turnover since Oct. 17 at Mississippi State. Taylor’s pick, his first this season and second of his career, helped the Big Orange defense hold the visitors scoreless in the third period.

Texas A&M tallied twice in the second half to close out the scoring for both teams. Smith’s one-yard plunge and Small’s PAT pushed the lead to 31-13 with 9:02 left in the fourth frame. Small tacked on a 21-yard field goal with 1:19 to go to make the final score 34-13 Aggies.

-UT Athletics