We’re keeping regular tabs on the updated bowl projections for the Vols and we’ll throw in our own thoughts as the rest of the season unfolds:
ESPN (McMurphy): Music City Bowl vs. Nebraska
ESPN (Schlabach): Outback vs. Northwestern
CBS: (Palm): Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas State
SBNation (Kirk): Outback Bowl vs. Northwestern
RTI’s take: The Vols got win No. 7 and continued to build on their bowl resume with a solid victory at Missouri. Assuming UT takes care of business against Vanderbilt this Saturday, Tennessee will be a pretty hot commodity in the bowl selection process. The Outback, Belk and Music City continue to be the most logical options and UT would likely sell a lot of tickets to any of them. The way it looks right now is that Alabama will be in the playoffs, Florida could head to the Sugar Bowl, Ole Miss might be the pick for the Citrus Bowl and then that leaves UT in a pool of teams such as LSU, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi State and A&M in the 8-9 win range that will be in play for the Group of Six Bowls (TaxSlayer, Outback, Music City, Belk, Liberty, Texas). Geographically, Texas doesn’t really make sense for UT. We don’t expect a return trip to the TaxSlayer Bowl. That leave the other four – and UT would probably lobby for Outback, Music City or Belk among those.
