The 1996

Florida Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Amway Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, an ...

was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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featuring the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

of the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, against the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

of the SEC. The Buckeyes were sparked by their senior

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winner

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Eddie George Edward Nathan George Jr. (born September 24, 1973) is an American football coach and former player who is the current head coach at Tennessee State. He played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, primarily f ...

. The Vols were led by sophomore quarterback

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

. Both teams entered the game with losses to rival teams. The Buckeyes started off the season with a surprising win over Notre Dame. However, the media buzz around the Big Ten surrounded the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern ...

who earned their way to an unbeaten conference run. Because the Buckeyes held the tiebreaker over the Wildcats, the only thing between the Buckeyes invitation into the Rose Bowl and a possible National Championship was their rival the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

. However, running back

Tim Biakabutuka Tshimanga "Tim" Biakabutuka (born January 24, 1974) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1993 to 1995. He next played professional football for the Carolina Panthers of the Nat ...

led the Wolverines to a 31-23 upset, sending the 'Cats to the Rose Bowl. Tennessee started off the season with victories over

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

and Georgia, before heading off to Gainesville to play the rival Gators. The Vols held a 30–21

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lead only to be outscored 41–7 in the second half, suffering a 62–37 defeat. However, the team won their remaining 8 regular season games, including a 41–14 win over

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. The Vols ended the season ranked third.

Scoring summary

;First quarter *Ohio State –

2 yard run (Josh Jackson kick) – OSU 7, Tenn 0 2:07 ;Second quarter *Tennessee – Graham 69 yard run (Hall kick) – Tenn 7, OSU 7 0:23 ;Third quarter *Tennessee – Kent 47 yard pass from

(Hall kick) – Tenn 14, OSU 7 13:22 ;Fourth quarter *Ohio State – Rickey Dudley 32 yard pass from

Bobby Hoying Bobby Hoying (born September 20, 1972) is a former college and professional American football quarterback. He is the grandson of baseball player Wally Post, who played 15 years in the Major Leagues. Post was an outfielder for the Cincinnati Re ...

(Jackson kick) – Tenn 14, OSU 14 14:40 *Tennessee – Hall 29 yard Field goal – Tenn 17, OSU 14 9:24 *Tennessee – Hall 25 yard Field goal – Tenn 20, OSU 14 2:06

References

Citrus Bowl (game) Ohio State Buckeyes football bowl games Tennessee Volunteers football bowl games

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