Tennessee's trip the Outback Bowl will be the Vols' 46th bowl game in school history, good enough for second all-time.

For UT coach Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee's second trip to a Tampa bowl game reminds him of his first.

The only other time Tennessee's postseason trip ended on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Fulmer took the sideline for the first official time as Tennessee's head coach.

"It was exciting," Fulmer said. "It was a lot of new things. I had not done it as a head coach. All the way from the travel and the itinerary and the security and just all the things that go with doing it, I was just amazed. I remember at the time all the support staff that made it so good. It's just gotten better since."

It was pretty good that day in 1993.

On UT's first play from scrimmage, quarterback Heath Shuler completed a 42-yard pass to Ron Davis. After leading by a touchdown at halftime, the Vols built a 38-7 lead with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.

UT defeated Boston College and coach Tom Coughlin, now with the New York Giants, 38-23 in the 1993 Hall of Fame Bowl -- now known as the Outback -- to give Fulmer his first bowl victory and his fourth win as UT's head coach.

Shortly after the Vols accepted their second bid to play in Tampa on Sunday afternoon, Fulmer reflected on his first trip.

"I wasn't nervous," he said. "The football part, you just do. You know that. It's just to make sure the buses were going to be there when they were supposed to be there and all those kind of things. I just didn't know. I found that our people do just a fantastic job."

Oddly enough, Tennessee enters its 11 a.m. game with Penn State on Jan. 1 (TV: ESPN) with a 9-3 record --the same record with which it finished the 1992 season.

Fulmer would love nothing more to finish this year's trip to Tampa the way he ended his last.

"It caps off a great season for us, a 10-win season, if we could do that and I do think you have a confidence carry-over into recruiting and offseason program and spring practice," Fulmer said of a bowl victory. "I think there's lots of plusses to coming away with a bowl win."

Paper Lions: On paper, Penn State is all you'd expect from a Big Ten team.

Led by a stingy defense and a run-oriented offense, the Nittany Lions finished tied for four in the Big Ten.

Linebackers Paul Posluszny and Dan Connors, who have a combined 211 tackles, are two of three finalists for the Bednarik Award, given to the nation's best defensive player.

Those two helped Penn State finish fourth in the Big Ten in total defense, allowing opponents an average of 279 yards total offense and 14.8 points.

The three teams that finished ahead of Penn State (Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan) are all ranked in the top 10.

Running back Tony Hunt finished third in the Big Ten with 1,228 yards, behind Wisconsin's P.J. Hill and Michigan's Mike Hart.

"We have great physical teams in our conference as well," Fulmer said. "But typically Big Ten teams are going to be physical and run the ball well. Our experience with them has been that you got to be ready to strap it on."

Mayo Better: Outside linebacker Jerod Mayo (knee) is improving and could be ready to play against Penn State.

"They're really pleased with the progress that he's made," Fulmer said. "They've done all the MRIs and the CAT scans and they haven't found a break. They're very encouraged that he'll be able to participate. The thing they saw initially was probably either an old injury or a birth defect kind of thing.

"I have to get the final word from the trainer, but he's better than he was."

Mayo, who started 11 games and is third on the team with 82 tackles, injured his left knee in the first quarter of UT's 39-10 victory at Vanderbilt and did not dress out against Kentucky.

Kell Induction: Former UT offensive lineman Chip Kell will be inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame tonight at a ceremony in New York City.

Kell, a Decatur, Ga., native and the 21st UT player to earn a spot in the Hall, was a two-time Jacobs Award winner, given to the SEC's best blocker, and the last Tennessee player to win that award.

Extra Points: Fulmer sent a letter to fans Monday thanking them for their support and encouraging fans to attend the Outback Bowl. ... Tickets are $60 and may be purchased through Ticketmaster or www.utsports.com. Outback Bowl information, including area hotels and attractions, can be found at www.outbackbowl.com.