Vols, Tar Heels look to end a tough year for both, with Music City Bowl win

Tonight’s Music City Bowl is a mediocre bowl game between two teams nowhere near the nation’s elite. Although, either Tennessee or North Carolina will end a sour season with much-needed momentum. Which program needs it more, one could only ponder. Both could certainly use it.

"Just getting here is something we can all be very proud of, but winning is really big, too," UT junior tailback Tauren Poole said. "This is a huge opportunity for us. Going into the offseason with a big winning streak, man, that would be great for everybody’s confidence. We could put ourselves in position to really turn the corner."

Some suggested all summer that the Volunteers (6-6, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) would be lucky to play in any bowl game, even a lower-tier one like this, but try telling that to one of college football’s proudest fan bases, even when their team wins just two of its first eight games.

The Tar Heels (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) weren’t initially predicted to spend their holidays in an environment like this, but lengthy absences from several stars due to off-field suspensions or injuries have decimated an experienced, NFL-talent-dripping defense that was supposed to be one of the game’s best. But then those issues left many wondering if the Heels, like the Vols, would make any bowl game.

"Our football team has a great deal of respect for Coach Dooley’s football team," North Carolina head coach Butch Davis said Wednesday afternoon. "I think that we share an awful lot of things in common. Both teams have gone through some adversity during the course of the season, and certainly the leadership and the character of both programs have shown up to put us in the situation to be able to play this game."