KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee and Ohio State have clashed only once before in program history, in the 1996 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
Both teams finished the regular season with just one loss and barely missed out on competing for a national championship. Jay Graham, a VFL and Tennessee running back, said getting to play a top-tier opponent was a solid consolation.
"The bowl game meant a lot to us. We were able to play Ohio State. That was the thing we're excited about back then," Graham said. "It wasn't the same thought process. We were like, 'Okay we're playing a tough team.' That's what we wanted."
The Buckeyes were as tough as anyone that season, led by Heisman-winning running back Eddie George and future first-overall pick Orlando Pace at offensive tackle.
"We watched them during the awards show get every award," Graham said. "Every award."
Graham outplayed George with 154 rushing yards and a touchdown, while George was held to a season-low output. The VFL said the Vols knew they had to have an answer for the Heisman winner.
"We talked about it. I was like, 'I have to out-rush him somehow and at least keep it close,'" Graham said. "He had made so many plays that year, so we had to do the best we could to stay on the field."
Although it wasn't the national championship on the line, that victory propelled Tennessee to a top-three finish in the national rankings and provided a huge confidence boost for the program.
"We had a lot of firsts that year. It was the first time in nine years we beat Alabama, and we were right on the cusp of becoming an upper-echelon team," Graham said.
The Vols reached the top of the mountain just a few years later with a national championship of their own, and Graham said that seeing this year's Tennessee team in contention for a title reminds him a lot of where this team was three decades ago.
"It's nostalgic, like, 'Hey man, we're back,'" Graham said. "Some young people have been Tennessee fans for a long time and they haven't seen Tennessee play well. I was at the game when we beat Alabama for the first time in a long time, and just to see young kids, like, they were going crazy. They were just so excited and just to see that was really special. It's really good to see."
