Tennessee Is Peerless

Tennessee turned a rocky night for Florida State into a Rocky Top celebration Monday night, defeating the Seminoles, 23-16, to win the Fiesta Bowl and the school’s first national championship since 1951.

Volunteer fans turned the Sun Devil Stadium field into a swarm of orange after the victory before a crowd of 80,470, a hugfest that ended in a chorus of the Tennessee Waltz.

The game, actually, was more of a dirge, neither school measuring up to the hype of the first unified bowl championship series national title.

The schools combined for 21 penalties for 165 yards.

But no one from Knoxville will remember the flaws years from now when the stories are retold to generations of Volunteer fans.

“It’s been 47 years since Tennessee football has brought one of these home,” Coach Phillip Fulmer said afterward, hoisting the BCS national trophy over his head. “We have a special place for it.”

Tennessee, which finished its first 13-0 season in history, will pick up the other end of its national title bookend when the Associated Press writers officially crown the Volunteers.

It was a special night for all of Tennessee, but for a few Volunteers in particular.

Junior quarterback Tee Martin entered the season with the daunting task of replacing Peyton Manning, the greatest player in school history.

Yet, Manning left Knoxville without a national title ring.

Martin will leave with at least one.

Against the nation’s No. 1-ranked defense Monday night, Martin completed 11 of 18 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns.

Martin and Peerless Price scorched the Seminoles’ secondary for passes of 76 and 79 yards.

Price boasted he would win the war against his counterpart, Peter Warrick, and did just that. Price had four catches for 199 yards and a touchdown.

Warrick, Florida State’s junior All-America, was held to one catch for seven yards.

“They were able to get the ball to their threat, we had a hard time getting the ball to our threat,” said Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden, whose team finished the season at 11-2.

Fulmer was another Volunteer with something to prove.

The 48-year-old coach entered the season with the highest winning percentage among active coaches, but rarely was mentioned as one of the game’s greats.

But after defeating Florida’s Steve Spurrier and Florida State’s Bowden this season--two of the game’s best--Fulmer’s legacy is secure.

Tennessee’s first national title in 47 years was in sight when the Volunteers opened a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Florida State played a sloppy game, flagged for 12 penalties for 110 yards, but still managed to cut the lead to 14-9 at the half and make Tennessee nervous in the end.

Tennessee looked to have the game in hand when Martin hit Price on a 79-yard scoring strike with 9:17 left to put the Volunteers up, 20-9, followed three minutes later by Jeff Hall’s 23-yard field goal to make it 23-9.

But Florida State quarterback Marcus Outzen’s seven-yard scoring run with 3:42 left cut the lead to seven and gave the Seminoles hope. Bowden then ordered an on-side kick, and Sebastian Janikowski recovered his own kick, but the officials correctly ruled that the ball hit Janikowski before it traveled the required 10 yards.

“The call was good by the officials,” Bowden said.

Florida State had a chance to get the ball back in the final minute, but the Seminoles, fittingly, committed a costly facemask penalty on tailback Travis Stephens that gave Tennessee the first down it needed to run out the clock.

Of the penalties, Bowden said: “That’s not the way we are. I thought we were a sloppy football team tonight.”

Bowden blamed his team’s poor play in part on not having played a game since defeating Florida on Nov. 21, but the 69-year-old coach was gracious in defeat.

“They just made more big plays than we did tonight,” Bowden said.

The Seminoles were not the same team with sophomore Outzen, starting in place of the injured Chris Weinke. Outzen completed only nine of 22 passes and was intercepted twice.

Florida State had not played a game in 44 days, and it showed, particularly in the first half, when the Seminoles committed eight penalties for 67 yards.

The game was scoreless until the second quarter, when Hall connected on a 24-yard field goal attempt. Dexter Jackson, though, roughed Hall on the play, giving Tennessee a first down at the four. Martin then hit fullback Shawn Bryson in the left flat for a touchdown to make it 7-0.

Disaster struck Florida State again on its ensuing possession, when cornerback Dwayne Goodrich intercepted an Outzen pass and raced 54 yards for a touchdown with 13:40 left in the half to put Tennessee up, 14-0.

The Volunteers, though, were also in the giving move, letting Florida State back in the game when defensive back Derrick Gibson intercepted a Martin pass at the 46 and raced 43 yards to the three, setting up fullback William McCray’s one-yard run with 8:59 left in the half.

But Florida State couldn’t even execute a simple extra point, as Janikowski’s kick was partially blocked and bounced off the crossbar.

The Seminoles blew a late chance to score and possibly tie the game after Warrick returned a punt 54 yards to the Tennessee 27.

Florida State botched a great opportunity, committing three false starts on an exasperating 10-play, 10-yard drive that lasted 4:33 and resulted in a 35-yard field goal by Janikowski to cut the lead to 14-9 at the half.

It wasn’t a half, or a game, to remember.

Hear postgame interviews from the Fiesta Bowl locker rooms on The Times’ Web site: https://www.latimes.com/fiesta

* TEE BALL: Tennessee quarterback Martin rings in a new era in Knoxville with national title. Page 8

* GAME REPORT: Page 8

* NOTES: Seminoles cut off at the pass to Warrick. Page 9

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By The Numbers

47

Seasons since Tennessee won national championship.

2

Number of unbeaten teams in college football (Tennessee 13-0. Tulare 12-0)

1-2

Florida State’s record in games that decided the national championship.

4

Times the Fiesta Bowl has determined the national champion.

16-5-1

Record of Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden in bowl games.

5-2

Record of Tennessee Coach Phil Fullmer in bowl games.

2-19

Tennessee’s record in bowl games.

4-4

Record of Southeastern Conference teams in bowl games.