Joshua Dobbs ran for three touchdowns and 118 yards and threw for 291 yards and another score and Tennessee beat No. 24 Nebraska 38-24 on Friday in the Music City Bowl.
The Volunteers (9-4) beat a Big Ten team in a bowl for a third straight year and notched their first win in three tries against the Cornhuskers. It's the first time Tennessee has won three straight bowls since 1994-1996 when Peyton Manning was quarterback for the Vols.
Tennessee took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter and outgained Nebraska 521-318 in total offense in the bowl sponsored by Franklin American Mortgage.
Nebraska (9-4) ended the season with two straight losses. The Cornhuskers lost four of their final six after rising as high as No. 7 in the rankings.
Ryker Fyfe, the fifth-year former walk-on started for injured quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. He pulled Nebraska within a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Fyfe threw two TD passes to Brandon Reilly and ran for a 9-yard TD with 10:02 left in the fourth to pull the Cornhuskers within 31-24.
Dobbs answered with a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Malone for the final margin.
THE TAKEAWAY
Nebraska: Armstrong was just one of the Cornhuskers watching from the sideline with his injured hamstring. Terrell Newby, their leading rusher with 864 yards this season, ran only nine times for 15 yards in the first half and didn't return. Reilly had his first TDs this season, trying to help with wide receiver Jordan Westercamp recovering from knee surgery.
Tennessee: The Vols gave up 608 yards offense in their last visit to Nashville, a 45-34 loss to Vanderbilt that ended their hopes of a Sugar Bowl berth. With linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. and cornerback Cam Sutton among those defenders healthier after a month off, the Vols came up with four sacks and a turnover.
BARNETT'S RECORD
All-American Derek Barnett finally got his 33rd career sack with 3:29 left, giving him the school record for career sacks to himself. The junior came in sharing the mark with Pro Football Hall of Fame lineman Reggie White. His teammates mobbed him after the sack, and the Vols took a timeout to celebrate.
UP NEXT
Nebraska: The Cornhuskers need a new quarterback before next season with Tanner Lee, a transfer from Tulane, and Patrick O'Brien, who redshirted as a freshman this season, the options.
Tennessee: The Vols also will be looking for a new starter. Quinten Dormady backed up Dobbs this season, but freshman Justin Guarantano is a dual-threat quarterback.
