Josh Heupel’s Tennessee Volunteers may not have been in real contention for the College Football Playoff this season like some had predicted, but the Volunteers still ended the 2023 season on a high note.
Specifically, the Vols’ 2023 season ended on the first day of 2024 with a bowl game win over the No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, winning 35-0.
Any bowl game win is reason enough for the traditional “Gatorade bath” the winning coach usually receives, but this bowl game featured a hilarious, and extremely apropos, twist.
Rather than getting doused in cold liquid, Heupel was given a Cheez-It bath, potentially the first of its kind.
The Volunteers officially end the season at 9-4. Perhaps more importantly, they seemingly have their star quarterback of the future in freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava who threw for one touchdown and rushed for three more.
Heupel is now 27-12 and 2-1 in bowl games at the end of his third season on Rocky Top.
