NCAAF FLORIDA CITRUS BOWL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL --- --- --- --- ----- TENNESSEE (9) 21 10 7 10 48 NORTHWESTERN (11) 0 21 0 7 28 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QTR: TENN - TD, PEERLESS PRICE 43 YD PASS FROM PEYTON MANNING (JEFF HALL KICK), 1:38 TENN - TD, PEYTON MANNING 10 YD RUN (JEFF HALL KICK), 6:53 TENN - TD, JOEY KENT 11 YD PASS FROM PEYTON MANNING (JEFF HALL KICK), 13:00 2ND QTR: NORW - TD, DARNELL AUTRY 2 YD RUN (BRIAN GOWINS KICK), 7:15 NORW - TD, BRIAN MUSSO 20 YD PASS FROM STEVE SCHNUR (BRIAN GOWINS KICK), 11:32 NORW - TD, DARNELL AUTRY 28 YD RUN (BRIAN GOWINS KICK), 12:33 TENN - TD, JOEY KENT 67 YD PASS FROM PEYTON MANNING (JEFF HALL KICK), 13:02 TENN - FG, JEFF HALL 19 YD, 15:00 3RD QTR: TENN - TD, TYRONE HINES 30 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (JEFF HALL KICK), 1:05 4TH QTR: TENN - FG, JEFF HALL 28 YD, 7:20 NORW - TD, D'WAYNE BATES 22 YD PASS FROM STEVE SCHNUR (BRIAN GOWINS KICK), 10:15 TENN - TD, DUSTIN MOORE 6 YD PASS FROM PEYTON MANNING (JEFF HALL KICK), 12:33
ATT: 63,467
NCAAF 1 2 3 4 F - - - - -- Tennessee (9) 21 10 7 10 48 Northwestern (11) 0 21 0 7 28 FINAL
Tennessee-P Price 43 pass from Manning (Hall kick) Tennessee-Manning 10 run (Hall kick) Tennessee-Kent 11 pass from Manning (Hall kick) Northwestern-D Autry 2 run (Gowins kick) Northwestern-B Musso 20 pass from Schnur (Gowins kick) Northwestern-D Autry 28 run (Gowins kick) Tennessee-Kent 67 pass from Manning (Hall kick) Tennessee-FG Hall 19 Tennessee-Hines 30 interception return (Hall kick) Tennessee-FG Hall 28 Northwestern-Bates 22 pass from Schnur (Gowins kick) Tennessee-Moore 6 pass from Manning (Hall kick)
Tennessee Northwestern First downs 29 22 Rushed-yards 32-115 28-43 Passing yards 408 242 Sacked-yards lost 3-23 3-31 Return yards 77 17 Passes 27-39-0 27-51-4 Punts 4-35.8 6-37.3 Fumbles-lost 4-2 1-1 Penalties-yards 13-112 5-40 Time of possession 27:52 32:08
Individual Statistics RUSHING: Tennessee-Graham 14-79, Levine 7-33, Manning 7-8, Moore 1-3, Lane 1-2, Martin 2-minus 10. Northwestern-D Autry 17-66, Gooch 2-10, Mcgrew 1-0, A Autry 1-minus 2, Schnur 7-minus 31.
PASSING: Tennessee-Manning 27-39-0-408. Northwestern-Schnur 25-45-3-228, Hughes 2-6-1-14.
RECEIVING: Tennessee-P Price 6-110, Kent 5-122, Graham 3-45, Nash 3-42, Lane 3-32, Moore 3-20, Mccellough 2-22, Levine 2-15. Northwestern-Bates 10-97, B Musso 10-91, D Autry 3-31, Beazley 1-10, Stewart 1-6, John Burden 1-6, Brown 1-1.
Att: 63,467
GAME RECAPPeyton Manning threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns as number nine Tennessee routed 11th-ranked Northwestern, 48-28, in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
In what could have been his last college game, Manning completed 27-of-39 passes without an interception and also ran 10 yards for a score. The junior has yet to decide whether to enter the NFL draft but many feel he could be the top pick if he left college. Tennessee fans were chanting, "One More Year!" as he left the field.
"It was extremely flattering," Manning said. "Most of the fans I know will support me no matter what I decide to do. It was the most fun I've had in quite a while."
Working against a suspect secondary weakened by the suspension of Hudhaifa Ismaeli, Manning directed Tennessee (10-2) to a 21-0 lead in the first 13 minutes. Northwestern (9-3) stormed back to tie the game, but could not contain Manning and suffered its second New Year's Day bowl loss in as many seasons.
"We certainly didn't slow them down very much," Northwestern coach Gary Barnett said. "I thought at one point, after it was 21-21, the game might turn around and we would regain our composure and take advantage of that surge in momentum. We weren't able to do that."
Manning's receivers ran wild, as Joey Kent caught five passes for 122 yards and two TDs and Peerless Price added six catches for 110 yards and a score. Dustin Moore caught a six-yard TD pass with 2:27 remaining.
"I think he threw for about 4,000 yards today, or at least it seemed like he did," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said.
"I think it was probably our best offensive game by far," Manning said. "It's the first time we've really started out with a bang. ... All our players were on the right track and were excited. This was as excited as our offensive line has been all season. We had a good feeling that we were going to put up some big numbers."
Appearing in the Citrus Bowl for the third time in four years, the Volunteers won for the second straight year. They knocked off Ohio State 20-14 last year and improved to 21-16 all-time in bowl games.
Steve Schnur was 25-of-45 for 228 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats, who have won or shared the last two Big Ten titles but have allowed 89 combined points in the ensuing bowl games.
Schnur also threw three interceptions, including one early in the third quarter that was returned 30 yards for a touchdown by Tyrone Hines and gave the Vols a commanding 38-21 lead. Hines added 13 tackles and stepped up in the absence of defensive end Leonard Little, who was sidelined with a knee injury.
"We felt if that we could make them throw the ball and stop their running game, we could have a good chance of stopping them," Hines said. "Our coaches did a good job of assigning me man-to-man coverage on their running backs and our defensive line was able to put pressure on the quarterback."
Manning hit Price with a 43-yard touchdown pass just 98 seconds into the game. He added his TD run less than six minutes later and found Kent with an 11-yard scoring toss, making it 21-0 with two minutes to go in the opening quarter.
But the Wildcats scored three touchdowns in a 5:18 span of the second quarter to tie the game. Darnell Autry had scoring runs of two and 28 yards around a 20-yard TD pass from Schnur to Brian Musso, pulling Northwestern into a 21-21 tie with 2:27 to play in the first half.
Manning reclaimed the lead for good just 29 seconds later when he found Kent with a 67-yard touchdown pass. A 19-yard field goal by Jeff Hall on the final play of the half gave Tennessee a 31-21 lead.
"We knew Northwestern was a comeback team and we wanted to make a big play because we wanted to get the momentum back," Kent said.
Manning was 16-of-22 for 285 yards and three scores in the first half, while Schnur was 10-of-19 for 94 yards.
Hines picked off Schnur 65 seconds into the second half and the offenses cooled off for the rest of the third quarter. Hall's 28-yard kick midway through the final period boosted the lead to 41-21.
"I think the interception at the beginning of the third quarter really took the wind out of our sails," Barnett said. "There was still plenty of time left to play, but just looking at the body language of our kids, I was disappointed with that."
D'Wayne Bates caught a 22-yard TD pass from Schnur with 4:45 to play. Within two scores, Northwestern tried an onside kick, but Tennessee retained possession and Manning capped his big game with a TD toss to Moore with 2:27 left.
Jay Graham had 79 yards on 14 carries and 45 on three catches for the Vols, who piled up 523 yards to overcome 112 yards in penalties. Tennessee averaged 7.4 yards per play.
Bates caught 10 passes for 97 yards and Musso had 10 receptions for 91 for the Wildcats, who had 285 yards but just 43 on the ground. Autry had 66 yards on 17 carries.