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All for Tennessee SEC, New Year’s Six and College Football Playoff Bowl Projections Following Week 12 of the Season

By Caleb Calhoun

Nov 19, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) after the game against the Missouri Tigers at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 63 to 37. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) after the game against the Missouri Tigers at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 63 to 37. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 20, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; General view of the Liberty Bowl before the game between the Memphis Tigers and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 20, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; General view of the Liberty Bowl before the game between the Memphis Tigers and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports /

Pre-New Year’s Day Bowl Projections Part II

Belk Bowl: Thursday, Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m.; Bank of America Stadium; Charlotte, N.C.

Georgia Bulldogs vs Miami Hurricanes

The Georgia Bulldogs are in the same spot they were in last week. After beating the Auburn Tigers, we have them finishing 8-4 and third in the SEC East in our projections, so they’re back in a top tier pre-New Year’s Day bowl game. Getting to the Belk Bowl in Kirby Smart’s year is an accomplishment. But what changes this week is who they’ll face.

Last week, we projected the Virginia Tech Hokies to be here, but we’ve moved them up to a better bowl. Now, that puts the Miami Hurricanes here at 7-4 and likely to finish 8-4 provided they beat the Duke Blue Devils at home. now this would be epic. Mark Richt is in his first year at Miami after 15 years with the Dawgs. How epic would it be for him to go against his former team that first year? It’s ratings gold! Bowl committees, make this happen!

Liberty Bowl: Friday, Dec. 30 at Noon; Liberty Bowl; Memphis, Tenn.

Kentucky Wildcats vs Texas Longhorns

The Ole Miss Rebels falling to the bottom of the SEC has forced us to move everybody up, and part of that means that the Kentucky Wildcats are third from the worst among bowl-eligible SEC teams in our bowl projections. That puts them in the Liberty Bowl, which would be a solid location considering it’s right up the road in Memphis. But they may have gotten a terrible draw.

Upsets over the weekend have caused us to move a very talented Texas Longhorns team into this slot. We still project Charlie Strong’s unit to finish 6-6, and when that happens, they’ll be going here to face the Wildcats. That means Mark Stoops’s best chance to see his team finish with a winning record is pray. Even in a down year, Texas is way better than Kentucky.

Music City Bowl: Friday, Dec. 30 at 3:30 p.m.; Nissan Stadium; Nashville, Tenn.

Texas A&M Aggies vs Iowa Hawkeyes

We initially had the Texas A&M Aggies in the TaxSlayer Bowl, but now our projections have them losing to the LSU Tigers. That loss will knock them to 8-4 and 4-4 in the conference for fourth place in the SEC West. Because of the other slots, it sends them to the Music City Bowl.

On the Big Ten side for our match-up in Nashville, the Iowa Hawkeyes remain our team. With the conference likely getting three teams into the New Year’s Six, Iowa is going to make its way into this bowl by finishing seventh in the Big Ten. So our bowl projections call for a match-up between two teams that had impressive runs this year but suffered sickening losses.

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