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Tennessee football 2021-22 bowl game rooting guide: Vols’ path to top 25

By Caleb Calhoun

Smokey and the Volunteer celebrate a touchdown during a NCAA football game against Tennessee Tech at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.Kns Tennessee Tenn Tech Football
Smokey and the Volunteer celebrate a touchdown during a NCAA football game against Tennessee Tech at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.Kns Tennessee Tenn Tech Football /
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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – APRIL 21: A general view of the stadium prior to the IAAF / BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017 at the Thomas Robinson Stadium on April 21, 2017 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images for IAAF)
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – APRIL 21: A general view of the stadium prior to the IAAF / BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017 at the Thomas Robinson Stadium on April 21, 2017 in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images for IAAF) /

With bowl season kicking off, plenty of games are relevant to Tennessee football. Games that could potentially clear a path for the Vols to finish in the top 25, games that involve boosting their reputation based on increasing the numerical quality of their opponents and games that have long-term recruiting impacts are all a big deal.

The most important game for UT is its own, the Music City Bowl against the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue is actually receiving 36 votes in the AP Poll and one vote in the Coaches Poll. Josh Heupel’s team is receiving none, so they need as many teams like that to lose for a chance at the top 25.

Those teams can’t lose to other teams who would leapfrog the Vols with a win, though. Taking all this into account, 33 postseason games matter. In this post, we’re going to name every one of them, who Vol fans should root for in each game and why. We will go in the order they are scheduled, so let’s dive in. This is our 2021-22 bowl game rooting guide for Tennessee football.

Bahamas Bowl (Friday, Dec. 17)

Toledo Rockets over MTSU Blue Raiders

There are no real top 25 implications for this game. However, recruiting options in the state of Tennessee are scarce. Although the Vols are clearly the top team in the state, that means that they should root for any possible way to avoid any competition getting in-state guys, particularly with questions in the future about Heupel’s ability to recruit.

For years, the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders have been a solid Conference-USA program under Rick Stockstill. At 6-6, they are no threat to UT with a win or a lose in this game alone, but the goal for the Vols needs to be to keep it that way going forward.

As a result, just for a bit of added insurance, Tennessee football fans should root for the 7-5 Toledo Rockets to beat MTSU. Ohio is another hotbed for recruiting competition, but Toledo is in Northern Ohio, up by Michigan. UT’s recruiting pipeline, if one existed in Ohio, would be much more connected to the southern portion of the state.

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