Tennessee football might be out of the College Football Playoff race, but there are two games left in the season, including the Vols' bowl game.
While we won't know who the Vols are playing or what bowl they will be in, we do know it will probably be a fun matchup, especially if Tennessee can beat Vanderbilt and finish the season with a 9-3 record.
As for Tennessee's current bowl projection, ESPN has the Vols in a couple of less-than-impressive bowl games, suggesting they expect the Vols to drop their upcoming game against Vanderbilt.
Kyle Bonagura has Tennessee in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Louisville, while Mark Schlabach has the Vols in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Iowa.
The Vols would likely be 8-4 if they played in either of those bowl games, matching Louisville and Iowa's expected records after their season finales.
The Commodores, however, have been projected to miss the College Football Playoff, landing in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against Michigan, according to both Bonagura and Schlabach.
If Tennessee does upset the Commodores, the Vols should flip bowl bids with Vandy. The Vols will be an enticing team for bowls like the Citrus Bowl over teams like Vanderbilt because of the way Vol Nation travels compared to many other fanbases.
ESPN analyst Bill Connelly believes the Vols can upset the Dores, especially with the strong run game they showed in Gainesville this past weekend.
“In two tight losses that eliminated the Vols from playoff contention, they averaged just 4.8 yards per carry against Georgia and 2.8 against Oklahoma. A burly run game will give them a solid chance of depriving Vanderbilt of a playoff bid next weekend,” Connelly writes.
Tennessee and Vanderbilt are set to face off at 3:30 PM ET for the Vols' home finale. The Commodores are fighting for a spot in the College Football Playoff, while Tennessee will try to play spoiler and hand Vandy their third loss of the season.