The Tennessee Volunteers had eyes on them all season, which continued through the bowl game. The Vols reported that they were the most-viewed bowl game outside of the New Year’s 6 games, a strong mark for a program trending in the right direction. It was the fifth-most viewed game under head coach Josh Heupel in his tenure, signaling the excitement around true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
True freshman quarterback first career start drew 2.2 million more viewers than the Fiesta Bowl featuring Oregon versus Liberty (4.6 million) in that same time slot on New Year’s Day.It’s the third straight bowl game under that the Vols have scored over 5.5 million viewers. In his first season, Tennessee’s 2021 Music City Bowl matchup against Purdue tallied 5.6 million viewers, while the 2022 Orange Bowl triumph over Clemson drew 8.6 million viewers on ESPN.Four of the Vols’ games during the 2023 season logged over five million viewers, including contests vs. Florida (5.3 million), Alabama (8.0 million) and Georgia (5.7 million). Dating back to Heupel’s first season in 2021, a total of 10 UT games have featured a viewership of over five million.” – Tennessee Athletics
