Strange: Bowl win erases bad taste in UT's mouth

Granted, Tennessee doesn't launch football seasons with the Outback Bowl circled on the calendar.

Granted, the Vols would rather be planning a trip to New Orleans (preferably Jan. 7, but Jan. 1 as an acceptable fall-back).

Still, athletic director Mike Hamilton deserves credit for any leverage he was able to wield to maneuver the team to Tampa to face Wisconsin rather than the Chick-fil-A Bowl, played in UT's personal torture chamber, the Georgia Dome.

A January 1 bowl is better, even than one played the night before. What day out of the 365 says college football more than New Year's Day?

Now, all the Vols have to do is this:

Win.

"The bowl is important because it's the last taste you have in your mouth about a team,'' Phillip Fulmer said Sunday night.

And it's a taste that lasts for months. Lose and there's no redeeming yourself the next Saturday.

There's been an epidemic of bad bowl breath around Tennessee lately. The Vols are 3-6 in their past nine bowl games.

Fans have only to recall last year's trip to the Outback, a dud of a 20-10 loss to Penn State. The last taste of the 2006 team sapped much of the good will generated by a regular-season rebound from the 2005 fiasco.

"There's the old saying, they remember what you do in November,'' Hamilton said. "You can translate that into the end of the season.''

Winning or losing a bowl game appears to have little bearing on how the team will perform in the following season.

Rout Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl in '04 then go 5-6 in '05.

Get hammered by Nebraska in the Orange Bowl in '97 then go 13-0 in '98.

But the outcome of a bowl does affect the aura of the long offseason.

"If you win,'' said Fulmer, "you want to keep the momentum going. And if you lose, you try to turn it into a motivational factor.''

Tennessee, at this juncture in its history, needs momentum more than it needs spinning a loss into motivation.

The shabby recent bowl history doesn't define the program but it is one tell-tale sign of UT's general declining national prestige.

That decline doesn't sit well but Hamilton doesn't believe the Tennessee fan base is as divided as some would portray it on the issue of Fulmer's leadership.

"Having said that,'' Hamilton added, "I do believe it's important to win 10 games and finish the season 10-4 as divisional champions and win a bowl game against a quality Big Ten opponent.

"That does serve as a rallying cry for our fans, wherever they might sit.''

The team sitting in Tennessee's path is capable of delivering an Outback downer, just as Penn State did a year ago.

The Badgers have momentum on several levels. After a midseason slump, they won four of their last five games to finish 9-3. They've also won nine of their past 12 bowl games.

That includes 17-14 over Arkansas last year and 24-10 over Auburn in 2005.

"We've been fortunate the last two years to play good on the day that it matters,'' said coach Bret Bielema.

The Badgers rank 19th nationally in rushing offense and have three different backs who have run for 400 or more yards.

They have an All-Big Ten tight end, Travis Beckum, with 73 catches and a mobile quarterback in Tyler Donovan.

They rank 36th nationally in total defense. Special teams are solid with All-Big Ten kicker Taylor Mehlhaff and the league's top punt-returner, David Gilreath.

Even if they do fit the Big Ten stereotype as slow afoot, that didn't seem to hinder Penn State last year.

Bottom line, if you're going to play on New Year's Day, expect a worthy opponent. It's no day to mail it in.

Fulmer was surprised last year by the unpleasant ending to an otherwise pleasant bowl trip. The Vols practiced well, got in a great scrimmage in Tampa, felt they had favorable match-ups with Penn State.

Then they went out and laid an egg.

Headed into this particular offseason, the program needs something more fulfilling to last until another September rolls around.

It needs to play good on the day that it matters, the last day it matters.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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