Biggest bowl since....?

[BanditVol]

At least the Fiesta in 1999, but a case can certainly be made for the Fiesta in 1998.  Either way, this is the biggest bowl in a LONG time!

I suppose a case could be made for Cotton Bowl 2004, but Cotton is just not as big as it used to be.  Got superceded by the Fiesta long ago, and now a case could be made that the Peach Bowl is bigger even.

FTR, I am going by the year of the season, not the bowl.  Just to avoid confusion.   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tennessee_Volunteers_bowl_games

[Creek Walker]

Are we going by the perceived clout of the bowl, or what's at stake?

Because if it's the latter, the 2015 Outback Bowl would be hard to top. We went down to Tampa and absolutely throttled a pretty decent Northwestern team that had become a little bit of a media darling. With so many underclassmen, that bowl was viewed as a preview of what might be coming the next year and it started everyone's tongues to wagging about the potential for Tennessee to make a run at the playoffs in 2016.

Of course we know how that turned out, but at the time the 2015 Outback Bowl was huge.

Let's just hope this Orange Bowl appearance doesn't turn out like the last one. 😬 The image of UT players on the sidelines throwing grass and horse playing as Nebraska skull-dragged us is forever burned into my mind.

[Black Diamond Vol]

With the proliferation of opt-outs in recent years, I just don’t think that bowl games in general are as important as they used to be (outside if the CFP). They were originally intended as exhibitions. It seems they’re going back to that.

[BanditVol]

Are we going by the perceived clout of the bowl, or what's at stake?

Because if it's the latter, the 2015 Outback Bowl would be hard to top. We went down to Tampa and absolutely throttled a pretty decent Northwestern team that had become a little bit of a media darling. With so many underclassmen, that bowl was viewed as a preview of what might be coming the next year and it started everyone's tongues to wagging about the potential for Tennessee to make a run at the playoffs in 2016.

Of course we know how that turned out, but at the time the 2015 Outback Bowl was huge.

Let's just hope this Orange Bowl appearance doesn't turn out like the last one. 😬 The image of UT players on the sidelines throwing grass and horse playing as Nebraska skull-dragged us is forever burned into my mind.

Size of the bowl/clout, of course.  By your standard 2004 was also a big deal when we routed Tamu.  We saw what happened in 2005 also. 

It definitely seems you can't make much of a correlation from bowl to next season.  The one exception in UTs case is that final drive by Tee Martin in the 1997 Orange Bowl.  That definitely was a foreshadowing of good things.   

[BanditVol]

They were originally intended as exhibitions. It seems they’re going back to that.

Yup.  But they still matter to perception and recruiting, IMO.

[murfvol]

When there's an opportunity to finish in the top five it's huge. I can buy the Fiesta in '99 being the last of this magnitude, though Creek makes good points on the Outback.

[Coupe De VOL]

...since the Houston Bluebonnet Bowl with Jimmy Streater.  Watch live on Raycom sports on your favorite UHF station this New Years Eve, 1979!   

[BanditVol]

...since the Houston Bluebonnet Bowl with Jimmy Streater.  Watch live on Raycom sports on your favorite UHF station this New Years Eve, 1979!   

 

Might as well say the NY City Charity Bowl in 1931