If you were looking for Tennessee's Big Ten counterpart in the late 1990s, Michigan stood out like a 100,000-seat stadium.

The Wolverines won a national title in 1997. The Vols won one in 1998.

Each program had a solid, but not flashy head coach with a great winning percentage (Lloyd Carr of Michigan and Phillip Fulmer of Tennessee). Each program also had a Heisman Trophy candidate (Michigan's Charles Woodson, the winner; UT's Peyton Manning, the runner-up).

The Wolverines signed top-10 recruiting classes and had a huge presence on NFL draft day. So did the Vols.

Both programs had great tradition. And both had 100,000-plus-seat stadiums that set them apart from most of college football.

The programs are still distinguished by their monstrous stadiums. But the UT-Michigan comparison has become outdated in the new millennium. I realized as much while studying Wisconsin, UT's opponent in Tuesday's Outback Bowl.

UT has become the Wisconsin of the SEC. In fact, the programs are so similar, it would be appropriate - if it weren't so warm down here - to dress up Smokey in a Badger costume for the bowl game.

Let's start the comparison with what's most important - graduation rates. Just kidding. I mean the won-loss record.

In the last 10 years, UT is 92-34 and Wisconsin is 90-36.

The teams also are similar in their conference and national status. They're second-tier programs in their respective leagues but have won plenty of games and consistently finished in the Top 25.

The Badgers won their last Big Ten championship in 1999. The Vols won their last SEC title in 1998.

The Badgers and Vols have finished in the Associated Press Top 25 in six of the last nine years. Both have one top-10 finish this decade.

Each program played in its last BCS bowl in January of 2000. Each has had one losing season in the last 10 years (Wisconsin was 5-7 in 2001; UT was 5-6 in 2005).

The coaches also have something significant in common, though you couldn't tell it by their experience.

Fulmer is the dean of SEC coaches, and Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, who is only 36, is a second-year head coach.

Fulmer was an offensive coordinator at UT prior to succeeding Johnny Majors as head coach after the 1992 season. Bielema was a defensive coordinator at Wisconsin before succeeding Barry Alvarez as head coach.

Both Fulmer and Bielema took over programs that were already successful and improved them right away.

The Vols went from 9-3 in Majors' last year to 10-2 in Fulmer's first year. The Badgers went from 10-3 in Alvarez's last year to 12-1 in Bielema's first year.

The current teams also have similarities.

Each was unbeaten at home, and each suffered two one-sided losses on the road.

The Vols lost to Florida and Alabama by a total of 63 points; the Badgers lost to Penn State and Ohio State by 52 points, although the Ohio State game was close until the last quarter.

Both have been better on offense than defense. Both have lost two starting cornerbacks to injury.

The teams are close on the scales, too. UT's starting offensive line averages 309 pounds per man. Wisconsin's averages 310.

Despite all the similarities, these look-alike programs often look quite different on bowl day.

Wisconsin has won six of its last eight bowl games. UT has lost five of its last seven.

So UT's goal for Tuesday should be obvious: Become more like its Big Ten twin on bowl day.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.

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