Part of the 1985–86 bowl game season, it matched the independent and second-ranked Miami Hurricanes and the #8 Tennessee Volunteers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
[3][4][5][6] The second-ranked Hurricanes were competing for another national championship; they won ten straight after dropping the opener at home to Florida.
The game kicked off shortly after 7 p.m. CST, televised by ABC, at the same time as the Orange Bowl on NBC,[2] with top-ranked Penn State and #3 Oklahoma.
Miami appeared dominant on its opening drive, capped with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Vinny Testaverde to Michael Irvin, and took the 7–0 lead into the second quarter.
Volunteers' quarterback Daryl Dickey threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Smith to tie the game at seven.