All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football rooting guide for 2021 Conference Championship games

By Caleb Calhoun

Smokey runs on the field during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Kns Tennessee Kentucky Football
Smokey runs on the field during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Kns Tennessee Kentucky Football /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 10
Next
Sep 4, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Kent State Golden Flashes quarterback Dustin Crum (7) during the fourth quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 4, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Kent State Golden Flashes quarterback Dustin Crum (7) during the fourth quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports /

For the 14th straight year, conference championship week arrives with no Tennessee football. However, Vol fans have more excitement this year than they have in a long time given what Josh Heupel is building. Despite not playing, they actually have a stake in all of the games taking place for different reasons.

There are two things UT fans would love. One is to get to the best bowl game possible. The other is to cash in on that outside chance of finishing in the top 25. To have a chance at those things, they need all the lower tier top 25 teams to lose, and they need the SEC to maximize its New Years Six teams.

Bowl prestige helps in terms of payouts, and a top 25 finish helps with recruiting. Here’s who needs to win each title game this weekend for Tennessee football to have a shot at those things. We’ve ranked them in order of importance.

10. MAC Championship

Kent State Golden Flashes over Northern Illinois Huskies

The Mid-American Conference Championship has by far the least significance of any game to the Vols. That’s because the Kent State Golden Flashes are 7-5, and the Northern Illinois Huskies are 8-4, so neither would ever finish ahead of Rocky Top. However, UT fans need to cover all their bases here, and that involves rooting for Kent State.

If Northern Illinois wins the MAC title, they could finish the regular season with 10 wins should they win their bowl game. That’s two more wins than UT would have even if they won their bowl game, so they could have a slight case to make.

On the other hand, Kent State has no shot of even receiving votes for the top 25, so Tennessee football can live with them winning this game. In reality, though, it’s likely neither team has any shot of receiving any votes over the Vols.

Home/Vols Football