After rolling through UT Martin on Homecoming in Knoxville, the Tennessee Volunteers and head coach Josh Heupel are continuing to rise on multiple bowl projections from around the country.
With the top three teams fairly in unison, there’s a big debate around that final College Football Playoff spot as we draw closer to some marquee games on the back half of the schedule. Tennessee, Michigan, and TCU are three teams that are seemingly going to be in consideration from here on out.
Still though, even with Tennessee’s matchup against Georgia on the horizon, experts around the country are still quite high on Heupel’s Volunteers.
247 Sports, ESPN, and CBS Sports all have analysts that are projecting Tennessee to wind up in the final spot of the playoffs.
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Here’s how some of the most popular projections broke down:
247 Sports (Brad Crawford)
Fiesta Bowl (Playoff Semifinal)
- Dec. 31, 2022
- No. 1 Ohio State vs No. 4 Tennessee
- “Will Ohio State be vulnerable once it faces a team with a comparable offense? These two being matched up in a semifinal setting would be must-watch TV if you’re into points and a lot of them. The Vols have scored 35 points in five straight games for the first time in program history and are clicking on all cylinders right now. Depending on which quarterback wins the Heisman, either C.J. Stroud or Hendon Hooker may be taking this one personal, too.”
Peach Bowl (Playoff Semifinal)
- Dec. 31, 2022
- No. 2 Georgia vs No. 3 Clemson
National Championship Game
- Jan. 9, 2023
- No. 2 Georgia vs No. 4 Tennessee
- “SEC haters are not going to like this one, but here it is. Two of the best teams in the country could wind up meeting twice this season if all goes according to plan for both. Tennessee travels to Athens on Nov. 5 in a showdown expected to decide the SEC East. The loser of that game, with a likely 11-1 finish, will then hope for the best in terms of playoff seeding unless TCU goes unbeaten and wins the Big 12. That would lead to chaos for every team involved in the mix.”
CBS Sports (Jerry Palm)
Peach Bowl (Playoff Semifinal)
- Dec. 31, 2022
- No. 1 Georgia vs No. 4 Tennessee
Fiesta Bowl (Playoff Semifinal)
- Dec. 31, 2022
- No. 2 Ohio State vs No. 3 Clemson
Yahoo Sports/College Football News
Allstate Sugar Bowl (SEC vs Big XII)
- Dec. 31, 2022
- Tennessee vs TCU
Fiesta Bowl (Playoff Semifinal)
- No. 1 Ohio State vs No. 4 Oregon
- “Would a Tennessee-Georgia and/or Michigan-Ohio State loser be more deserving than 12-1 Oregon that started the season getting blasted by Georgia? Maybe, but until the CFP committee breaks precedent, we’re going with it.”
Peach Bowl (Playoff Semifinal)
- No. 2 Georgia vs No. 3 Clemson
ESPN
Kyle Bonagura
- Allstate Sugar Bowl – Tennessee vs TCU
- Fiesta Bowl (Playoff Semifinal) – No. 2 Ohio State vs No. 3 Clemson
- Peach Bowl (Playoff Semifinal) – No. 1 Georgia vs No. 4 TCU
Mark Schlabach
- Fiesta Bowl (Playoff Semifinal) – No. 1 Ohio State vs No. 4 Tennessee
- Peach Bowl (Playoff Semifinal) – No. 2 Georgia vs No. 3 Clemson
- “Defending national champion Georgia had an open date, Ohio State rolled past Iowa 54-10 at home, and Tennessee cruised past FCS opponent UT Martin 65-24. Georgia and Tennessee will have to take care of business this coming week — the Bulldogs play Florida in Jacksonville, and the Volunteers host Kentucky — before their Nov. 5 showdown in Athens, which could decide the SEC East race.”
