Various Bowl Projections for the Vols
The Vols are just one win away from making their first bowl game since 2010 when they lost 30-27 to North Carolina in the Music City Bowl. Could Tennessee end up in the same bowl this season? PHOTO: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Volunteers improved to 5-5 for the 2014 season after a resounding 50-16 victory over Kentucky this past weekend, and the win put the Vols one victory away from becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010.
With remaining games against Missouri and Vanderbilt, it appears highly likely the Vols will at least earn the mandatory 6 wins for eligibility for postseason play. Many college football pundits agree, and they are placing the Vols in bowl games ranging from in-state sites in Nashville and Memphis to out-of-state bowls in Charlotte and Birmingham.
Here are a few of the bowl predictions the national media has for the Vols:
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach
Birmingham Bowl (January 3 in Birmingham, AL) vs. Memphis Tigers
ESPN’s Brett McMurphy
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (December 29 in Memphis, TN) vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys
CBS Sports
Music City Bowl (December 30 in Nashville, TN) vs. Louisville Cardinals
Fox Sports
TaxSlayer Bowl (January 2 in Jacksonville, FL) vs. Maryland Terrapins
SB Nation
Belk Bowl (December 30 in Charlotte, NC) vs. Clemson Tigers
Sporting News
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (December 29 in Memphis, TN) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers
As you can see, most of the national sites have the Vols projected to go bowling all over the south. The only overlapping bowl is the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, but the opponents vary from the two sites who predict the Vols to end up there.
As for my prediction, I believe the Vols will end up in either the Music City Bowl or the Liberty Bowl. There’s an outside chance the Vols will go to a bowl game outside of the state of Tennessee, but it is unlikely the Vols will be as big of a draw outside of the state.
Birmingham, Charlotte, and Nashville are all basically the same distances from Knoxville, and while Memphis is technically in-state, it is approximately 6 hours from Neyland Stadium. The first three make the most sense for the Vols and will likely pull an instant sell-out for Tennessee fans, and ultimately I believe the Vols will end up in Nashville on December 30th and play a mid-tier ACC team.
Bowl predictions have been gathered from ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, SB Nation, and Sporting News respectively.