Tennessee Football Headed to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day?

Could winning its last four games in a row be enough to propel Tennessee and its head coach, Derek Dooley, into contention for the Gator Bowl? A tweet sent out by UT athletics director Mike Hamilton tonight makes it clear that's entirely possible.

Prior to Saturday, speculation had centered around the Volunteers most likely being headed to their first appearance in Nashville's Music City Bowl to play in the Tennessee Titans' stadium against an ACC team. However, it may be that the SEC pecking order will allow the Gator Bowl—where UT has a long history—to be their holiday destination.

The Big Orange last made an appearance in the Gator in 1994, when it was played in Gainesville while the stadium was being renovated for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Bowden Wyatt's Vols beat Bear Bryant's Texas A&M team in the 1957 Gator Bowl, 3-0, before Bear returned to his alma mater, Alabama. UT's next appearance in Jacksonville was in 1966 when Doug Dickey's team beat Syracuse, 18-12, in the first bowl game yours truly ever attended.

Tennessee came back to Jacksonville after winning the SEC championship for Dickey's controversial last game at UT in 1969, a 14-13 loss to his alma mater, Florida. Bill Battle brought the Big Orange back there in 1973, losing to Tennessee native Jim Carlen's Texas Tech Red Raiders, 28-19. Phillip Fulmer's UT team beat Frank Beamer's Virginia Tech squad, 45-23, in the school's last Gator Bowl.

The Southeastern Conference just signed a new agreement with the Gator Bowl to let them pick a team to play a Big Ten opponent annually. This marks the first time an SEC team could be invited to the Gator, as the Jacksonville bowl formerly has had ties to the Atlantic Coast Conference for the past several seasons. The Gator replaces the Independence Bowl in Shreveport as an SEC bowl site.

Playing in the Gator would shine a greater spotlight on Tennessee, as it is a New Year's Day bowl game, as opposed to the Music City Bowl, which is played on December 30. Thus, it is far more prestigious for Big Orange Nation to get an invitation to Florida for the holidays.