Tennessee isn’t where they want to be in 2022 after an incredible start to the season but they can still salvage things with a strong bowl performance.
For a stretch of the 2022 season, the Tennessee Volunteers looked unstoppable. Then they ran headfirst into Georgia and everything fell apart.
Tennessee lost to South Carolina in embarrassing fashion while losing quarterback Hendon Hooker to a season-ending injury.
That doesn’t mean their campaign can’t be topped off with a game meant to propel them into even bigger things in 2023.
Tennessee bowl projections: Volunteers expected to play in Cotton Bowl
With Georgia and LSU facing off in the SEC title game and Alabama sitting ahead of the Volunteers in the College Football Playoff Rankings, Tennessee’s position in the bowl selection process could change greatly based on the results of championship weekend.
If things play out chalk, the Volunteers are expected to play in the Cotton Bowl as an at-large selection against Tulane, as predicted by CBS Sports.
That’s the most likely outcome since Georgia is expected to beat LSU, knocking them into the Citrus Bowl, and Alabama should be the Sugar Bowl pick as the top non-SEC champion available.
The disaster scenario for Tennessee is LSU beating Georgia. The Tigers would play in the Sugar Bowl and Alabama could end up taking the Cotton Bowl berth with their higher ranking. Then Tennessee would fall to the Citrus Bowl, unless true chaos unfolded and Ohio State ended up in the playoff. Then they could still land in the Orange Bowl or Cotton Bowl.
Recent Cotton Bowl history
2021: (1) Alabama 27, (4) Cincinnati 6
2020: (8) Oklahoma 55, (10) Florida 20
2019: (13) Penn State 53, (15) Memphis 39
2018: (2) Clemson 30, (3) Notre Dame 3
2017: (5) Ohio State 24, (8) USC 7
The Cotton Bown hosted a College Football Playoff final in 2021 and 2018. Alabama took down Cincinnati last year while Clemson got the better of Notre Dame a couple of years earlier.
Tennessee hasn’t been in the Cotton Bowl since 2005 when they took down Texas A&M.
When is the Cotton Bowl?
Date: Monday, Jan 2, 2022
Time: 1:00 p.m. E.T
Location: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
TV Channel: ESPN
The 87th edition of the Cotton Bowl Classic will kick off on Jan. 2 at AT&T Stadium.
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