University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Open Citrus Bowl Preparations in Orlando
December 26, 2001 | Football
Dec. 26, 2001
ORLANDO (Dec. 26) -- Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer sees pride and respect as the?reasons the Volunteers will be ready for Tuesday's Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl date with Michigan. Both the Vols and Wolverines are coming off tough season-ending losses heading into their first football meeting
in history.
"The main thing is to close out on a winning note and feel good about?the off-season," Fulmer said. "We have a chance to finish at or near the top five in the polls and send our seniors out on a good note, which is important. But the main thing is pride and respect, from the standpoint of being one of the teams, as Michigan is, that's respected in college football. And you've got two of the best playing against each other."
The No. 8-ranked Vols won the SEC Eastern Division and stand 10-2 with a chance for the eighth 11-win season in school history. Michigan enters 8-3 and finished second in the Big Ten Conference behind Illinois. Both teams kicked off practices Wednesday at the Florida Citrus Bowl Complex, Michigan having arrived in Orlando Dec. 21 and Tennessee Christmas evening.
"This is a huge game for us," UT quarterback Casey Clausen said. "It's going to be big for us to come out and play well and get off to a fast start."
Tennessee is making its 42nd bowl appearance, second only to Alabama's 51. This is the 13th consecutive bowl game for the Vols and their seventh straight January contest - both school records. Tennessee is one of only four schools to appear in a bowl game each of the last 13 years, joining Florida State, Michigan and Nebraska.
"I think just from a traditional standpoint you're looking at this game
and the national championship game as creating as much interest as any of the bowl games," Fulmer said.
The Vols' practiced two hours in full gear Wednesday at Tinker/McCracken Fields in the Florida Citrus Bowl Complex. It marked the first practice for UT since the Christmas break, which began the afternoon of Dec. 22.
Readings in the upper 50s made for a brisk workout, but the start time of 1:45 p.m. gave the Vols the best of the day's high temperature. Following the workout, the team headed for an evening at Sea World.
Fulmer stated the squad arrived in good shape to begin preparations in Orlando. Two Vols who missed action in Knoxville prior to the holiday break -- linebacker Eddie Moore and tight end Jason Witten -- returned to limited work in the opening session.
Thursday's schedule calls for both teams to participate in the Florida Citrus Bowl's "Day for the Kids" Festival at Tinker Field. Tennessee practices at 2 p.m., and the evening activity includes a visit to Universal Studios.
Tickets remain available at the UT Ticket Office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Tickets are $60 each and can be purchased online at utsports.com, or by calling the ticket office at 800/332-VOLS or 656-1200 in the Knoxville area.
