2019 Tennessee Vols Tax Slayer Gator Bowl Highlights & Bowl History

January 03, 2020

Tennessee Vols Tax Slayer Gator Bowl 2019

When you consider how the 2019-20 season started with a loss to Georgia
state and BYU this is a season I hope no Tennessee Vols fans forget.

After the way the Vols started the season, it’s almost unbelievable that they finished the season with an 8-5 record and a six game winning streak. After this phenomenal come back Bowl Game victory even the most skeptical fan should be excited about next year.

But that’s a testament to the job that Jeremy Pruitt and his staff did this season. The players bought in and never quit believing in Pruitt’s vision. And they never quit believing on Thursday night when the offense looked inept and Gator Bowl game victory seemed unlikely. The Vols were toast. But despite seemingly everyone feeling that an Indiana bowl game win was inevitable, Tennessee kept pressing forward.

The Vols’ Gator Bowl win was essentially a microcosm of UT’s season — adversity, doubt, belief, and ultimately success.

Tennessee still has a long way to go before they’re a threat to win the SEC East. But I think it’s clear to every Vol fan, they’re on the right trajectory with Pruitt steering the ship.

This was a Tennessee football season filled with more drama than normal and ended with plenty of it.

The Vols erased a two-score fourth-quarter deficit and rallied to a 23-22 victory over Indiana in the Gator Bowl on Thursday night in front of a crowd of 61,789 at TIAA Bank Field.

WATCH THE REPLAY OF THE ENTIRE GAME HERE

Tennessee (8-5) will take a six-game winning streak into the off season, while Indiana (8-5) came close to its first nine-win season since 1967.

Here are four things we learned from the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl

1) The Tennessee Vols & Coaching Staff Never Stopped

Trailing 22-9, the Vols used an 82-yard touchdown drive to move within one possession.

Then Paxton Brooks dribbled an onside kick that Eric Gray recovered. Three plays later, Gray was in the end zone with a 16-yard scoring run to give the Vols the lead with 3:51 left in the game.

Indiana had a chance to go ahead, but Logan Justus missed a 52-yard field goal to the right. Justus missed an extra point earlier in the game.

The Hoosiers regained possession with less than a minute remaining and crossed midfield, but Peyton Ramsey's fourth-down pass sailed incomplete.

INDIANA:Hoosiers fall to Vols in Gator Bowl heartbreaker

BOWL GAMES:Schedule, TV information and results

Tennessee needed to rally after third-quarter swing

Tennessee led 6-3 at halftime, riding the coattails of its defense that powered its winning streak. But Indiana opened the third quarter with a 12-play, 69-yard scoring drive.

Ramsey’s running ability gave the Vols fits all night, and his 9-yard scramble on second down set up his touchdown on a sneak.

Two plays later, Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano threw an interception that was returned for a score, and the Vols suddenly trailed 16-6 with 8:26 remaining in the third quarter.

2) Vols need quarterback competition

Next year the Vols will have five scholarship quarterbacks in spring practice if each of the quarterbacks on this year’s team returns. Unless Guarantano decides he is going to go pro, which in my opinion is ridiculous. That is probably not going to happen, but it may. Having more competition in the form of incoming freshmen Harrison Bailey and Jimmy Holiday is a welcome addition after the quarterback woes that hamstrung this season.

Guarantano finished 18-of-31 for 221 yards with two interceptions. Brian Maurer appeared in one drive and threw back-to-back passes into traffic that were nearly intercepted. That ended his night.

Guarantano, a junior, enters the off season with a flimsy handle on the starting spot after a season in which he lost and regained the job.

Don’t bury Guarantano, though. He’s the quarterback with nine lives, and he was at his best during the fourth-quarter for us. I know his personality rubs many Vols fans the wrong way. Personally I am on that list, but he is what he is.

3) Tennessee navigates red-zone issues

The Vols had 202 yards of offense in the first half, but scored just six points.

How can that be? Well, it’s Tennessee.

The Vols’ red-zone woes continued. Three first-half trips inside the 10-yard line resulted in a pair of field goals. The first trip ended in a failed fourth down before Tennessee wisely just sent out Brent Cimaglia for the easy three points the next two times.

To Tennessee’s credit, it scored touchdowns on both second-half trips into the red zone. The Vols finished the season with a 48.9% touchdown rate on red-zone trips. That ranks 13th in the SEC. I expect to see improvement from this point forward with Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols staff.

4) Jauan Jennings offers limited impact

Guarantano desperately wanted to get Jauan Jennings the ball on his first pass attempt of the second half. The Hoosiers seemed to sense that.

Jamar Johnson undercut Jennings to intercept the pass and returned it for a 63-yard touchdown.

Jennings finished with two catches in his one half of play after serving a first-half suspension.

Freshman Ramel Keyton was one of the wide receivers who saw an uptick in playing time in place of Jennings. He made an impressive catch on a downfield 50/50 ball before making a catch over the middle to move the chains on a third down. His two catches doubled his season total.

Josh Palmer was Tennessee’s leading receiver with six catches for 68 yards.

Jennings finished with two catches in his one half of play after serving a first-half suspension.

Josh Palmer was Tennessee’s leading receiver with six catches for 68 yards.

Eric Gray finished his freshman year by earning MVP honors at the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

Gray rushed for a game-high with 86 yards and scoring what proved to be the deciding touchdown in the Vols' 23-22 win over Indiana.

Indiana coach Tom Allen said after the game that the 5-foot-10 player from Memphis is a "special player" with a bright future.

Gray said he was happy to end his freshman year by taking home the MVP award after Thursday's game.

"For me, like you said, being a Tennessee boy and being here at Tennessee, it's been unbelievable," Gray said. "Being MVP has been amazing. I just want to say all glory to God."

In a postgame press conference, Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt spoke about the promising freshman as a big part of the Vols' future.

"We're excited about the future of our program because of guys like Eric Gray," Pruitt said. "You don't have to spend a whole lot of time with Eric Gray to figure out that he's made the right way.

"Being a Tennessee boy and being here at Tennessee, it has been unbelievable," Gray said. "It has been an unbelievable journey. I fell in love with the place early. ... It's something I dreamed about as a kid, playing college football, playing in a bowl game. Being MVP has been amazing. I just want to say all glory to God."