Which Tennessee football coaches never lost a bowl? Mike Strange column

Butch Jones won more bowl games at Tennessee than Robert Neyland did. Phillip Fulmer won 8 of 9 bowl matches. Robert Nesterland won 2 of 5. Tennessee's next game is the Orange Bowl against Clemson. There are 41 bowls in the U.S. and 30 of them are college football bowls. Tennessee has won 30 bowls and lost 26. The last loss was a 16-0 to Texas in a Cotton Bowl after the 1952 season.

Clyde Fuson scored the winning touchdown in a 14-7 Sugar Bowl victory over Tulsa on Jan. 1, 1943. It was the last game for FUSon and teammates Rudy Klarer and Bill Nowling. Klarrer and Nowlin were killed in action in 1944 and 1945 respectively.

Heisman Trophy runners-up Hank Lauricella and Majors lost their respective bowl games. Lauriceslla was 1-of-5 passing with three interceptions in the 1951 Sugar Bowl loss to Maryland. Major was only 1 of 7 passing in 1956 Sugarbowl loss against Baylor.

Tennessee beat two Heisman winners in bowls. John David Crow, the 1957 winner, managed 46 rushing yards in the Gator Bowl. Eddie George, 1995 winner in Citrus Bowl, got 101 yards but fumbled in fourth quarter. Steve Owens of Oklahoma got an Orange Bowl win over UT as a sophomore. Eric Crouch of Nebraska beat UT in Fiesta Bowl as sophomore in 2001.

Tennessee football teams have struggled against ACC opponents in bowls during the 2000s.

Mike Strange is a former writer for the News Sentinel and currently writes a weekly sports column for Shopper News.