Tennessee Football's updated bowl projections: Vols down to two options

Tennessee Football is seemingly down to two options for bowl games. Bowl projections this week — from On3, ESPN, CBS Sports, College Football News and Sports Illustrated — all have the Vols in either the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa or the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.

The majority of the projections have Tennessee in the ReliaQuest Bowl. CBS Sports and ESPN’s Mark Schlabach have the Vols against Illinois in Tampa, while College Football News and Sports Illustrated have Tennessee matched up against Iowa.

Among the Gator Bowl picks are On3’s Brett McMurphy, vs. Miami, and ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, vs. Georgia Tech.

Tennessee’s bowl game will be announced on Sunday

The College Football Playoff field will be set on Sunday afternoon, followed by bowl announcements later in the day.

Tennessee is 2-1 in three games against Miami, dating back to the 35-7 win in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day 1986. The Vols and Hurricanes split a home-and-home in 2002 and 2003, with Miami winning in Knoxville in 2002 and Tennessee winning at Miami in 2003.

The Vols have never played Illinois and are 3-1 all time against Iowa, winning 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl two years ago, 45-28 in the TaxSlayer Bowl in 2015 and 23-22 in the Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands to start the 1987 season. Iowa beat the Vols 28-22 in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Eve 1982.

Tennessee is 25-17-2 all time against Georgia Tech, dating back to 1902. The two teams last met in 2017 — the Vols won 42-41 in overtime at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta — but start a home-and-home next season at Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium. 

SEC bowl games, dates

The SEC has affiliations with up to nine bowl games, depending on the number of league teams that reach bowl eligibility each season. 

The Citrus Bowl gets the first pick of available SEC teams. The league has other tie-ins with the Liberty Bowl (vs. Big 12), the Mayo Bowl (vs. ACC), the ReliaQuest Bowl (vs. Big 10 or ACC), Texas Bowl (vs. Big 12), Gator Bowl (vs. ACC) and Music City Bowl (vs. Big Ten).

If needed, the SEC also has tie-ins with the Birmingham Bowl (vs. AAC) and the Gasparilla Bowl (vs. AAC or ACC). 

Ten SEC teams won six or more games this season, with Georgia (11-1), Ole Miss (11-1), Texas A&M (11-1), Oklahoma (10-2) and Alabama (10-2) projected to make the College Football Playoff. Vanderbilt (10-2) remains on the outside looking in according to most predictions for the 12-team playoff field. 

The league’s other teams with bowl eligibility are Texas (9-3), Tennessee (8-4), Missouri (8-4) and LSU (7-5). 

Kentucky, Auburn and Mississippi State all went 5-7, while Florida and South Carolina both went 4-8. Arkansas finished 2-10.

Bowl Season Schedule

The Gator Bowl is set for Saturday, December 27. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville. The Texas Bowl is also December 27, kicking off at 9:15 p.m. ET at NRG Stadium in Houston.

The Music City Bowl is Tuesday, December 30 and is a 5:30 p.m. ET start at Nissan Stadium.

The Citrus Bowl and ReliaQuest Bowl are both set for New Year’s Eve. The ReliaQuest Bowl is a Noon ET start at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Wednesday, December 31, while the Citrus Bowl is a 3 p.m. ET start at Camping World Stadium in Tampa.

The Liberty Bowl will be played Friday, January 2 and is a 4:30 p.m. ET start at Liberty Stadium in Memphis. The Mayo Bowl is also set for January 2 in an 8 p.m. ET kickoff at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. 

The Gasparilla Bowl will be played on December 19 in Tampa, scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. ET kickoff. The Birmingham Bowl is Monday, December 29, a 2 p.m. ET start at Protective Stadium.