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Tennessee football: Vols fans 2019-2020 bowl game rooting guide

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 5: The Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey runs through the end zone after a score against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 5, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 5: The Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey runs through the end zone after a score against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 5, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images /

18. Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

No. 12/13 Penn State Nittany Lions over No. 15 Memphis Tigers

Saturday, Dec. 28 at Noon ET; AT&T Stadium; Arlington, Texas; ESPN

Okay, so we’re back to one more game with implications beyond just where teams finish in the top 25. But Tennessee football desperately needs the right outcome to take shape here. Otherwise, the future of the program could become a problem, and that’s the last thing they can afford as they continue to rebuild under Jeremy Pruitt.

The Memphis Tigers just finished the year 12-1 and as American Athletic Conference Champions. They were a bad call away from going undefeated. With Mike Norvell gone to the Florida State Seminoles, though, they are hurting a bit heading into the Cotton Bowl. If they manage to beat the Penn State Nittany Lions, though, it will have a ripple effect.

Ryan Silverfield, who has just been promoted to head coach, will then be able to prove that Memphis as a program is not going anywhere. And all of a sudden, the Tigers could start making it a lot tougher for UT to recruit talent out of there. Pruitt is relying heavily on Memphis-area talent for his 2020 class. What happens if the Tigers keep winning?

Sure, they are a Group of Five school. But you’re seeing this with the UCF Knights in Florida, beginning to compete with the elite schools. Memphis may start doing that too, and that could be disastrous. This is why Vol fans need Penn State, who is favored by six and a half, to win. It doesn’t hurt that there’s an off-chance UT leapfrogs Memphis too if the Tigers lose and they win.

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