Updating Tennessee football's bowl projections entering Saturday's game vs. No. 1 Georgia
Tennessee football’s bowl projections shifted after the loss at Missouri last week. The most popular predictions for the Vols entering Saturday’s game against No. 1 Georgia are the Gator Bowl and Music City Bowl, with three other possibilities mentioned.
Five media outlets have Tennessee slotted for the Gator Bowl, with three possible opponents. Both Athlon and College Football Network have the Vols matched up against Clemson while The Action Network and CBS Sports have Tennessee-North Carolina. USA Today has a Tennessee-Miami Gator Bowl.
Two outlets have the Vols headed to the Music City Bowl. Both ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and The Sporting News have Tennessee-Rutgers in Nashville.
The Athletic has Tennessee-Notre Dame in the ReliaQuest Bowl, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach has the Vols and Virginia Tech in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and Yahoo has Tennessee and Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl.
Bowl Projections
| Media Outlet | Bowl Projection | Opponent | Date, Time |
| Athlon | Gator Bowl | Clemson | Friday, Dec. 29 (Noon ET) |
| CBS Sports | Gator Bowl | North Carolina | Friday, Dec. 29 (Noon ET) |
| College Football Network | Gator Bowl | Clemson | Friday, Dec. 29 (Noon ET) |
| ESPN (Mark Schlabach) | Duke’s Mayo Bowl | Virginia Tech | Wednesday, Dec. 27 (5:30 p.m. ET) |
| ESPN (Kyle Bonagura) | Music City Bowl | Rutgers | Saturday, Dec. 30 (2 p.m. ET) |
| The Sporting News | Music City Bowl | Rutgers | Saturday, Dec. 30 (2 p.m. ET) |
| The Action Network | Gator Bowl | North Carolina | Friday, Dec. 29 (Noon ET) |
| The Athletic | ReliaQuest Bowl | Notre Dame | Monday, Jan. 1 (Noon ET) |
| USA Today | Gator Bowl | Miami | Friday, Dec. 29 (Noon ET) |
| Yahoo | Liberty Bowl | Kansas State | Friday, Dec. 29 (3:30 p.m. ET) |
Bowl History — Tennessee’s Projected Destinations
Tennessee has played in the Gator Bowl seven times. The Vols beat Texas A&M 3-0 in the 1957 Gator Bowl, beat Syracuse 18-12 in the 1966 Gator Bowl and lost 14-13 to Florida in the 1969 Gator Bowl. Texas Tech beat the Vols 28-19 in the 1973 Gator Bowl and Tennessee beat Virginia Tech 45-23 in the 1994 Gator Bowl, played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.
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Tennessee beat Iowa 45-28 in 2015, when the Gator Bowl was known as the TaxSlayer Bowl and the Vols beat Indiana 23-22 in the 2019 Gator Bowl. This year’s Gator Bowl will be played on Friday, December 29 and will be a Noon Eastern Time start at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
The ReliaQuest Bowl has hosted Tennessee four times. The Vols lost 20-10 to Penn State in 2007, beat Wisconsin 21-16 in 2008 and beat Northwestern 45-6 on New Year’s Day 2016.
Tennessee has played in the Music City Bowl three times, losing 30-27 to North Carolina in 2010, beating Nebraska 38-24 in 2016 and losing 47-45 to Purdue in 2021. The Vols started the season at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, beating Virginia 49-13 on September 2.
Tennessee has never appeared in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, formerly known as the Belk Bowl. The Vols are 3-0 in the Liberty Bowl, beating Arkansas in 1971, Maryland in 1974 and Minnesota in 1986.
