Bowl projections in October don’t mean a whole lot, but they’re still a good indicator of where teams are and what the national expectation is for a team.
Sports Illustrated released their latest bowl projections on Tuesday and they have the Vols playing a 13th game this season.
Zac Ellis of Sports Illustrated projects that Tennessee will play Miami in the Music City Bowl on December 30 in Nashville.
That projection is consistent with preseason expectations for the Vols.
Neither Miami or Tennessee are bowl eligible yet. Miami needs one more win, but their final four games of the season (North Carolina, Florida State, @ Virginia, Pittsburgh) could all be considered “toss-up” games (with the exception of Florida State, the Hurricanes aren’t winning that game — even in Miami).
The Vols, on the other hand, have to win three of their final four games to reach bowl eligibility. Tennessee’s final third of the season is certainly more favorable then the first part of their schedule.
UT has South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt left on the schedule (Missouri and Kentucky at home). The Vols also have a bye week wedged in between South Carolina and Kentucky.
I think the Vols get to six wins (with an outside shot at seven), but there’s definitely no guarantee it will happen.
If this scenario, however, does play out the way Ellis has predicted, it’ll be a somewhat sad reminder of how far these two storied programs have fallen over the past decade.
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