Tennessee Football's updated Bowl Projections entering Week 13

The only consistency in Tennessee Football’s updated bowl projections is inconsistency. Entering the final two weeks of the season, the Vols are still getting connected with the ReliaQuest Bowl, the Citrus Bowl, the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and the Music City Bowl. 

The ReliaQuest Bowl is by far the most popular pick.

On3’s Brett McMurphy has Tennessee-Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl, the same bowl game and the same matchup that ESPN’s Mark Schlabach had earlier this week. 

Both Athlon and Sports Illustrated have the Vols matched up against Nebraska in the ReliaQuest Bowl. CBS Sports has Tennessee-Nebraska in the Music City Bowl.

ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura has Tennessee and Louisville in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and USA Today has the Vols in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando against Michigan. 

The ReliaQuest Bowl is a Noon Eastern Time start on January 31 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Citrus Bowl follows with a 3 p.m. ET start on New Year’s Eve at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. 

The Music City Bowl is scheduled for December 30 at 5:30 p.m. ET at Nissan Stadium in Nashville and the Duke’s May Bowl is January 2 at 8 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. 

Tennessee ranked No. 20 in College Football Playoff Top 25

During the Josh Heupel era, Tennessee has played in the Music City Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Citrus Bowl. The Vols lost to Purdue in the Music City Bowl to end the 2021 season, beat Clemson in the Orange Bowl to end the 2022 season and beat Iowa in the Citrus Bowl to end the 2023 season. 

Tennessee came in at No. 20 in the College Football Top 25 Tuesday night, in the third update of the season. The Vols were ranked No. 25 in the first playoff rankings of the season and moved up to No. 23 last week.

Tennessee has been ranked in every College Football Playoff Top 25 since the 2022 season, with the streak now at 20 consecutive weeks.

The Vols on Sunday afternoon moved up one spot to No. 20 in the Associated Press Top 25and stayed put at No. 20 in the Coaches Poll. Last week Tennessee dropped eight spots to No. 22 in the Coaches Poll and nine spots to No. 23 in the AP Top 25 after the 33-27 loss to Oklahoma at Neyland Stadium.

ESPN: Tennessee’s College Football Playoff chances down to 0.8%

Tennessee is ranked No. 16 in ESPN’s College Football Power Index, which gives the Vols just a 1.9% chance to reach the College Football Playoff after the win over New Mexico State. 

The FPI predicts Tennessee to finish 8-4 — 8.2-3.8 is the exact win-loss projection — with a 37.5% chance to win out. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Vols a a 65.0% chance to win at Florida and a 58.6% chance to beat Vanderbilt.

Tennessee lost at Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff last season, with the Buckeyes on their way to the national championship. The Vols have played in three bowl games under Josh Heupel, losing to Purdue in the Music City Bowl in 2021, beating Clemson in the Orange Bowl in 2022 and beating Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day 2024.