Erik Ainge threw four touchdown passes, including a pair to Robert Meachem, as the Vols ended a 6-game home losing streak to teams ranked in the Top 10 in front of 106,609 fans at Neyland Stadium.
"We all felt disrespected," Ainge said after the game. "This game tonight wasn't just for Tennessee versus California. It was for the South versus the West Coast, the SEC versus the Pac-10."
Ainge finished the night 11-for-17 for 291 yards.
Other Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Sept. 2 included:
Florida (1-0): Chris Leak threw three touchdown passes as the Gators cruised by Southern Miss, 34-7.
Montana State (1-0): The Division I-AA Bobcats stunned Colorado, 19-10, in Boulder.
Northwestern (1-0): The Wildcats opened the season with a 21-3 win over Miami (Ohio) in the first game after the death of head coach Randy Walker.
The FWAA has named a national team of the week since the 2002 season. This is the second season that the award has been sponsored by the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
The 16 pollsters of the Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll decide the weekly honor. Each Monday during the 2006 college football season, the FWAA will name the Tostitos Bowl National Team of the Week through Nov. 27.
The Grantland Rice Super 16 Poll will resume this season on Oct. 16. The top-ranked team in the final poll will be awarded the Grantland Rice Trophy as the FWAA's national champion. The FWAA has awarded the trophy each season since 1954. Texas is the defending FWAA national champion and Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the initial 2006 poll.
Since 1971, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl has hosted five games that have decided the college football national championship, including two Bowl Championship Series title games. The 2007 game will be played on Jan. 1. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, along with the new Tostitos BCS Championship Game, moves to the new Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The BCS title game will be played on Jan. 8.
For more information on the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week, go to
www.footballwriters.com or www.fiestabowl.org.