Tennessee is 6-6 (3-5 in the SEC) and bowl eligible for the first time since 2010. The Vols went 3-1 in November with their lone loss coming by one score to SEC East champs Missouri. So where is Tennessee bowling? Daniel Lewis outlined the new SEC bowl process here – and it’s a process which will be much tougher to predict than the bowl process of previous years. Liberty Bowl representatives have been hotly pursuing the Vols this season, one was even overheard telling a Tennessee assistant “Great win. We’ll see you soon” after Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt.
There’s no doubt the Liberty Bowl wants Tennessee. They’ll present their case to the SEC, along with the other group of six bowls. Tennessee will also present its case to the conference. And the SEC will decide from there. The Belk Bowl is in play for the Vols as well. Even with the uncharted waters the new bowl process brings, if the Vols don’t end up at either the Liberty Bowl or the Belk Bowl, I’ll be surprised.
Here’s a roundup of this the latest bowl projections for the Volunteers.
ESPN’s Brett McMurphy: Iowa vs. Tennessee in the Music City Bowl, December 30th, Nashville, TN
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: West Virginia vs. Tennessee in the Liberty Bowl, December 29th, Memphis, TN
CBSSports.com: Notre Dame vs. Tennessee in the Belk Bowl, December 30th, Charlotte, NC
SI.com: West Virginia vs. Tennessee in the Liberty Bowl, December 29th, Memphis, TN
SportingNews.com: North Carolina vs. Tennessee in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl, December 27th, Shreveport, LA
AthlonSports.com: West Virginia vs. Tennessee in the Liberty Bowl, December 29th, Memphis, TN
SBNation.com: NC State vs. Tennessee in the Belk Bowl, December 30th, Charlotte, NC
PhilSteele.com: Duke vs. Tennessee in the Belk Bowl, December 30th, Charlotte, NC
