 The Tennessee offense was led by freshman quarterback Peyton Manning, son of NFL great Archie Manning, who had played against the Hokies in the 1968 Liberty Bowl.During the regular season, Peyton played in seven games, winning six of them and completing 86 of his 139 pass attempts for 1,114 yards, 11 touchdowns, and six interceptions.Manning's passer rating of 145.2 was the third-highest among starting quarterbacks in the SEC.