Latest bowl game projection for the Tennessee Vols in 2022
The Tennessee Vols are at a point under Josh Heupel where a bowl game appearance is no longer the hope — it's the expectation. Tennessee is hoping that losing seasons will be a thing of the past under Heupel. And based on what we saw in year one of the Heupel era, it certainly feels […]
The Tennessee Vols are at a point under Josh Heupel where a bowl game appearance is no longer the hope — it's the expectation.
Tennessee is hoping that losing seasons will be a thing of the past under Heupel. And based on what we saw in year one of the Heupel era, it certainly feels like the program is finally about to turn a corner.
Heupel, after all, is the first Vols head coach since Lane Kiffin to finish with a winning record in his first season leading the program (Derek Dooley, Butch Jones, and Jeremy Pruitt all went 5-7 in their first seasons while Heupel went 7-6).
I'm not sure what Heupel's goal is in 2022. I'm sure he wants and expects to win every game, but that's not necessarily realistic just yet for the Vols. Tennessee's first 10-win season since 2007, however, is realistic.
The latest bowl game projection for the Vols from College Football News has Tennessee playing in the Gator Bowl. SEC teams that reach the Gator Bowl typically have eight or nine regular-season wins, so that means College Football News thinks the Vols will be on the cusp of 10 wins next season.
As for the Vols' projected opponent in the Gator Bowl? That would be Florida State, the program Tennessee beat to claim the 1998 BCS championship.
The two programs haven't played each other since the 1998 season when the Vols beat the Seminoles 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl.
Tennessee obviously wants to set its sights higher than the Gator Bowl. But landing in Jacksonville would mean the Vols took some steps forward in Heupel's second season leading the program.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
