Vols prepare for Wolverines

ORLANDO, Fla. - Tennessee and Michigan feel their New Year's Day clash in the Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl is about regaining respect after late-season stumbles denied each team conference crowns and the possibility of greater gridiron glory in BCS bowls.

It's the first meeting between the tradition-rich football powers, who both thought they might be playing elsewhere in the New Year. After UT lost to LSU in the SEC Championship and Michigan fell to Ohio State in a regular-season finale, travel plans for Pasadena and New Orleans were scrapped in favor of a place both teams have gotten to know well in recent years.

"The main thing is to close out on a winning note and feel good about the off-season," Vols head coach Phillip Fulmer said after his team arrived in Orlando this week. "We have a chance to finish at or near the top five in the polls and send our seniors out on a good note, which is important.

"But the main thing is pride and respect, from the standpoint of being one of the teams, as Michigan is, that's respected in college football. And you've got two of the best playing against each other."

"We'll find out on January 1 what our resolve is," Wolverines skipper Lloyd Carr said. "It's easy to talk about resolve. I know they are good kids and I know their disappointment (about losing to the Buckeyes) is tremendous. That doesn't mean anything, it's how you finish and that's really the challenge we have and how you deal with it when it doesn't go your way."

Tennessee has recorded a 3-1 mark in its four previous Florida Citrus Bowl appearances. The Vols defeated Maryland 30-23 in 1983, lost to Penn State 31-13 in 1994, downed Ohio State 20-14 in 1996 and Northwestern 48-28 in 1997.

This is the Wolverines' third trip to Orlando in the last four years. On New Year's Day 2001, the Wolverines beat Auburn 31-28. It was also "Hail To The Victors" in 1999 by a 45-31 count over Arkansas.

The No. 8-ranked Vols (10-2) won the SEC Eastern Division and would finish with the eighth 11-win season in school history should they defeat Michigan. The Wolverines (No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 17 in the AP Poll) are 8-3 and finished second in the Big Ten Conference behind Sugar Bowl-bound Illinois.

Tennessee is making its 42nd bowl appearance, second only to Alabama's 51 bowls. It's a school-record 13th consecutive bowl game for the Vols and their seventh straight January contest. UT is one of only four schools to appear in a bowl game each of the last 13 years - the others are Michigan, Florida State and Nebraska. The Wolverines will be making their 27th consecutive bowl appearance with Tuesday's game.

Fulmer was all for putting a good spin on the situation when speaking with reporters in recent days. "I think just from a traditional standpoint you're looking at this game and the national championship game as creating as much interest as any of the bowl games," he said.

That interest hasn't apparently shown up in tickets sales, however. Vols fans can still go to www.utsports.com for tickets or to www.ticketmaster.com for public section sales.

Tennessee players were doing their best to encourage UT fans to come see them in Orlando, or at least watch the ABC telecast beginning at noon central time.

"It think it's a big game," said tailback Travis Stephens, who hopes to bounce back from a 37-yard rushing performance against LSU and show the form that gained 1,464 SEC-leading yards in 2001. "Tennessee and Michigan have never played against each other. Big schools . big stadium . so it's just going to be an interesting thing to see.

"Oh yeah, we're ready to play. Like I said, it's a big game and we're not going to take this team lightly. We're just going to go in and practice like it was a national championship game. It's our national championship game."

Wolverines' ILB Eric Brackins is a Pigeon Forge, Tenn., native who will be playing his last collegiate game against the Vols, so he certainly needs no hype to ready himself for Tuesday's game. His brother Phil is a sophomore fullback for Michigan. "I try to push it away. If you think about it you get emotional so I try to focus on the game at hand. When the game's over that's when you start thinking, 'This is my last game'. Anytime you know it's your last time at something, you make it your best."

Vols QB Casey Clausen definitely expects Michigan's defense to be at their best. "They're really good. Defensively, they're real good up front, real solid. They're linebackers are real good. And on offense, they've got a couple of guys . their receiver and running backs are pretty good. We just need to get out there and play well."

Carr is a Hawkins County, Tenn., native, who has long kept up with football in Big Orange Country, and he feels Clausen and Co. have an offensive attack that will test the Wolverines' defense. "Casey Clausen is a big guy and sees the field well. They have such a good ability to run the football and then you have the receivers that they have," he said. "You have (Jason) Witten, who is an up-and-coming star at tight end and two great receivers (in Donte Stallworth and Kelley Washington). That's an ideal situation to be a quarterback in."

Michigan hopes quarterback John Navarre can rebound from a 21-of-47, four-interception performance against Ohio State. "He's been through a difficult time in his career. You know that becoming successful is always painful and he's been through some of that. He's a tough guy and he's resilient and he will come out of it fine," Carr said. Wideout Marquise Walker (81 catches for 1,043 yards and 11 TDs) has been Navarre's top target this season.

Tennessee vs. Michigan

TV - ABC