<P> Despite the proximity of the two schools, the 2009 Chick - fil - A Bowl was only their eighth football meeting . Tennessee held a 5 - 2 advantage in the series, but before 1994, the last meeting between them was in 1937 . The 1994 meeting was in the 1994 Gator Bowl, which the Volunteers won 45 - 23 . Each school rapidly sold its allotment of 17,000 tickets, and publicly available tickets were sold out before the matchup was announced . This gave the Chick - fil - A Bowl its 13th consecutive sellout . </P> <P> In the weeks leading up to the Chick - fil - A Bowl, the number of controversies surrounding Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin continued to grow . Throughout the regular season, he was linked to violations of NCAA rules and actions that appeared to fall outside the norm for SEC coaches . He was mentioned in a rap song by Lil Wayne, and his combative attitude toward opposing coaches caused friction within the SEC . In the second week of December, he was connected to an ongoing scandal in which Tennessee hostesses allegedly helped lure recruits to Tennessee, violating NCAA rules . Despite these problems, he was a successful recruiter, and gained commitments from sought - after recruits in the leadup to the Chick - fil - A Bowl . </P> <P> In addition to the off - the - field issues, Tennessee underwent a pair of coaching changes in the weeks before the Chick - fil - A Bowl . Wide receivers coach Frank Wilson and running backs coach Eddie Gran each decided in the first days of December to leave Tennessee for other SEC teams . In interviews, Kiffin said the coaching changes and stories surrounding him were not a distraction from his team's bowl preparation . </P> <P> During the 2009 season, Virginia Tech was 28th nationally in scoring offense (number of points scored) and 55th in total offense . Most of the Hokies' success came on the ground: Tech was 16th nationally in rushing offense but 98th in passing offense . A large reason for Virginia Tech's offensive success was running back Ryan Williams, who broke Virginia Tech's single - season rushing record that year . Entering the Chick - fil - A Bowl, he had 1,538 yards, only 110 short of the record . Tech running back Darren Evans, who tore his left anterior cruciate ligament before the season began, was held out of the Chick - fil - A Bowl, even though his recovery had progressed to the point that he could have participated . </P>

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