Vols know A&M's Cotton Bowl tradition

Smith will see that team again Jan. 1 when the Vols play in the Cotton Bowl.

"I remember when I was tiny watching Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl every other year, it seems like," Smith said, "them versus Notre Dame or whoever."

Texas A&M has made more appearances in the Cotton Bowl than any other team over the past 20 seasons. This will be the Aggies' eighth trip to Dallas since 1986 and their 11th overall.

The Vols hope to extend the Aggies' losing streak in the Cotton Bowl to five games.

Texas A&M went to the Cotton Bowl four times in five years (1992-94 and 1996) and lost all four games.

Their last victory came in 1988 when they beat Notre Dame 35-10. Texas A&M has a 4-6 record in Cotton Bowl games.

"I think it's cool to play (Texas A&M) and play in that bowl game," Smith said. "It's a bowl game I watched growing up a lot."

Tennessee will be making its sixth trip to the Cotton Bowl. Its most recent appearance came in 2001 when the Vols lost to Kansas State 35-21.

The Vols will be facing a team rich in tradition.

"Playing a team like Texas A&M, their tradition goes back so far, even before I was born," defensive tackle Turk McBride said. "It will be two rich football traditions playing each other."

Linebacker Kevin Burnett knows more about the football tradition in the state of Texas than Cotton Bowl or Texas A&M tradition.

"The tradition I know about Texas, or Texas as a whole, it's a big football state," Burnett said. "They live, eat, breathe, sleep football down there. We're going from a football town to a football state."

The Vols are taking a break for Christmas and will meet in Dallas on Christmas night to begin preparations for the Cotton Bowl.

While the Vols would have preferred a trip to the Sugar Bowl, their bowl fate isn't too bad.

"It's better than the Peach Bowl," Smith said. "That's what we were in the last two years. I mean, we can't say this is the bowl we definitely wanted to go to, but we've got to look at the whole season.

"It's been a pretty good season for all the things that happened. It was just the bowl game we landed in. I'm happy. I'm ready to go play in it."