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Tennessee football: Vols fans’ rooting guide to make best possible bowl game

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

Auburn Tigers over Alabama Crimson Tide

Line: Alabama -3.5; Over/Under: 50; TV: CBS

Saturday, Nov. 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET; Jordan-Hare Stadium; Auburn, Ala.

This is the second most straightforward thing for Tennessee football on the weekend. In order to have five SEC teams make New Year’s Six bowl games, the Auburn Tigers have to be one of the teams to make it. If Auburn is going to be able to make such a bowl game, they have to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Right now, Auburn is No. 15 in the College Football Playoff rankings. If they beat Alabama while the Michigan Wolverines, ranked No. 13, lose to the Ohio State Buckeyes, Auburn will certainly move ahead of them. In the process, they will be one step closer to making a New Year’s Six bowl, and Alabama won’t drop below them.

If Alabama beats Auburn, it opens the door for three SEC teams to make the College Football Playoff. But that won’t be enough to make Auburn a fifth team in the playoff, as they will be 8-4, and that record is not favorable when it comes to the discretion of the voters in this system.

As a result, Auburn needs to get to 9-3. Otherwise, they’ll be left out of a New Year’s Six bowl game, meaning they will be the ones to go to the Citrus Bowl over other teams vying for that spot. And Vol fans don’t want that. So they will have to do what they have never had to worry about doing in the past: root against Alabama.

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