Husker Corner
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Nebraska Football: Better Know An Opponent – Tennessee

By Brandon Cavanaugh

Nov 19, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 63 to 37. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 63 to 37. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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nebraska football tennessee football
Nov 12, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones celebrates with Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) and defensive lineman LaTroy Lewis (4) after the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 49 to 36. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

For those of us who grew up in the ’90s, seeing a Nebraska football team face Tennessee is somewhat familiar.

However, for a new generation, this is an entirely new event.

With that in mind, we reached out to AllForTennessee‘s Caleb Calhoun (isn’t that an awesome name for a Vol?) to tell us more about Nebraska’s Music City Bowl opponent.

Enjoy.

– When you first heard about this matchup, what was your reaction?

The first thing that came to my mind is Tennessee’s history with Nebraska. The Vols played the Cornhuskers twice in the 1990s, back when both programs were at their peak. The Huskers won both times.

nebraska football tennessee football
Oct 8, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones (right) and former quarterback Peyton Manning (left) before the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. The Aggies defeat the Volunteers 45-38 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

I think about the time they ruined Peyton Manning’s final bowl game with a 42-17 blowout win in the Orange Bowl to win their third national title in four years in Tom Osborne’s final game. The second time was a 31-21 Fiesta Bowl win at the end of 1999.

All I could think of about those games was how Phillip Fulmer and John Chavis could not figure out how to stop that darn triple-option, whether it was Scott Frost or Eric Crouch, despite all the NFL talent the Vols had on defense both years.

– Who are the Tennessee players Nebraska fans should be familiar with by game time?

Quarterback Joshua Dobbs is the most recognizable. He and Tommy Armstrong Jr. are similar in that they’re mobile quarterbacks who are seniors, and while they may not have won as much as they would have wished at their schools, they are still loved by fans.

Another guy is defensive end Derek Barnett, who has 12 sacks on the year and was robbed of a chance to win the Chuck Bednarik Award. Alvin Kamra, Josh Malone, and Jauan Jennings are the big playmakers on offense.

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