Outback Bowl 2016, Northwestern vs. Tennessee, 45-6: Full highlights, final score and more

Tennessee dominated Northwestern from start to finish in the 2016 Outback Bowl

Before the 2016 Outback Bowl every got underway, it seemed as if the Tennessee Volunteers had a distinct advantage over their opponents in the Northwestern Wildcats. Both teams had enjoyed phenomenal regular season coming into the matchup, but the two squads just seemed to have a talent discrepancy between the two of them. Unfortunately for Northwestern, that’s exactly the way things played out on the gridiron.

After a quiet offensive start to the contest, the first advantage that the Volunteers had in this game in that they could force the Wildcats into being wildly one-dimensional on the offensive side of the ball came to the forefront. Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson made a terrible pass (one of many on the day) and Tennessee picked him off. That really got Joshua Dobbs and Jalen Hurd ignited on the offensive side of the ball as they started running after that and didn’t seem to stop for the rest of the afternoon.

Both teams missed a field goal after the Thorson interception, but then Tennessee started rolling by scoring on three consecutive possessions. The Wildcats could only manage a touchdown (complete with missed extra point) to answer and the Vols went into halftime up 17-6. However, things were only about to get worse for Northwestern.

Hurd and Dobbs kept hitting the Wildcats defense right in the mouth at the start of the second half Northwestern didn’t have an answer for it in the slightest. As the defense continued to prey on Thorson’s inability to throw the football—and a pick-six off of backup Zach Oliver in the closing moments—and, as the Volunteers offense basically got whatever they wanted whenever they pleased, Tennessee cruised to a huge victory in the Outback Bowl.

Three stars

Jalen Hurd was the workhorse and an absolute beast for Tennessee in this Outback Bowl matchup. Hurd finished the day with 24 carries for 130 yards and a score.

Joshua Dobbs was fantastic for the Volunteers at quarterback as he led the way all day. He finished the day going 14-25 for 166 yards while also running 12 times for 48 yards and two touchdowns.

Justin Jackson and the Wildcats may have struggled overall, but their star running back still had a nice day. He finished the afternoon with 14 carries for 74 yards and a score.

Highlights

Odds

The Volunteers were 8-point favorites coming into this game, a spread that they covered in the victory. The two teams, however, combined to hit the over on the 47.5-point O/U line.

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