Tennessee's bowl projections remain a near consensus after the end of the regular season
Not much changed for Tennessee’s bowl projections after the close of the regular season in the 48-24 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The Vols are still widely expected to be Gator Bowl bound. The only question is who the opponent will be.
The majority of projections — Athlon, CBS Sports, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and The Action Network — all have Tennessee headed to Jacksonville to play North Carolina, despite the Tar Heels losing 39-30 to rival North Carolina State on Saturday.
The win helped the Wolfpack finish 9-3 while UNC dropped to 8-4. The Action Network currently has the Vols as a 6.5-point favorite in a bowl matchup with North Carolina.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura has Tennessee in the Gator Bowl facing N.C. State, instead of North Carolina. And College Football Network has a Tennessee-Clemson Gator Bowl in a rematch of last season’s Orange Bowl.
As of Monday, The Sporting News was the only outlet that had Tennessee not headed to the Gator Bowl. Instead, it’s prediction was a Tennessee-Maryland matchup in the Music City Bowl.
The Gator Bowl will be played on Friday, December 29. It’s a Noon Eastern Time kickoff at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. The Music City Bowl is set for Saturday, December 30, a 2 p.m. ET start at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
A Closer Look: The Projected Opponents
North Carolina (8-4) dropped to No. 26 in ESPN’s Football Power Index after the loss to N.C. State. The Tar Heels started the season 6-0 then dropped back-to-back games against Virginia and Georgia Tech. UNC lost at Clemson two weeks ago after wins over Campbell and Duke.
N.C. State (9-3) is No. 35 overall in the FPI after winning five straight straight to close the regular-season schedule, beating Clemson, Miami, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and North Carolina. The Wolfpack started 4-3 with losses at home against Notre Dame and Louisville and on the road at Duke.
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Clemson (8-4) is No. 19 overall in the FPI. The Tigers started the season 4-4 with losses to Duke, Florida State, Miami and N.C. State before running the table with four straight wins, beating Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Maryland (7-5) is No. 33 in the FPI. The Terps started the season 5-0 then lost four straight, but won two of three to end the regular season, winning at Nebraska and Rutgers with a loss at Michigan.
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.
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.
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.
