University of Tennessee Athletics
Dobbs Sets The Tone On Team 118's Final Act
January 02, 2015 | Football
By Brian Rice JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
UTSports.com
He did not have to lead a comeback that bordered on miraculous as he did on the road against South Carolina. He did not have to put the team on his back to gut out a tight win as he did to get the Vols bowl-eligible at Vanderbilt.
What he did was set the offensive tone early on, and as General Neyland's Maxims said, he continued to put on more steam in a record-setting first half. Dobbs led the Vols on touchdown drives on the first four possessions en route to winning Most Valuable Player honors in Tennessee's 45-28 win over Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
"We wanted to start fast," head coach Butch Jones said. "We thought that was critical in this game. We did start fast. I believe we only had three third downs in the entire first half. When we're moving on offense, we're generating first downs on first and second down. I thought Josh managed the offense."
Through those first four possessions, Dobbs carried three times for 24 yards and the final of the four touchdowns. Through the air, he was a perfect 7 of 7 for 45 yards.
His start allowed Tennessee to fulfill what was its goal all season long.
"Coming into the season, our goal was obviously to make it a bowl game," Dobbs said. "And when we got there to win it, as we did today."
Dobbs finished the night with 76 yards on 13 carries and two rushing touchdowns, the second pushed the Volunteer lead to 42-7 in the third quarter. He was an efficient 16 of 21 for 129 yards through the air, with an impressive TD pass to Von Pearson with 21 seconds left in the first half.
The sophomore quarterback left an impression on the competition as well.
"To me, that was the best execution we saw from their football team all season long," Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said when asked to evaluate Dobbs' night. "He was very impressive. He played an excellent football game today."
For Jones, the versatility of his quarterback was a key to the game plan and opening up the offense against a physical Iowa front.
"Sometimes Josh has options on plays, not just pass plays but run plays, where he can hand the ball off or run the play," Jones said. "I thought Josh did a great job of really managing the offense all game long."
After the game, Jones referenced the lifespan of Team 118 was in its final day. As the Volunteers turn the page, the standard has been set for Team 119. And the work begins tomorrow.
"This is the start of a foundation for something big going on in Tennessee, momentum we can carry into the off season," Dobbs said. "Start of something big, a lot of momentum going into next year."
