All for Tennessee Official SEC and New Year's Six Bowl Projections After Week 6

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Oct 8, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones yells at the referees during the second quarter of the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Here are the official All for Tennessee SEC and New Year’s Six Bowl Projections following Week Six of the college football season.

The undefeated ranks was trimmed down to 11 teams this past weekend, and eight of them clinched berth postseason eligibility in the process. Yes, that will have an effect on our bowl projections this week.

As we get set to bring you our second round of bowl projections, we are once again focusing this on SEC and New Year’s Six games only.

This week, because of the way things played out last week in the SEC, we had to trim the number of teams from the conference likely to make a bowl game from 11 to 10. The Mississippi State Bulldogs have been removed from the list for now.

As always, we also want to note that these projections are not based on our College Football Playoff rankings or our Power Rankings.

The bowl projections factor in the better team, what the body of work will look like at the end of the year, and the body of work they already have. In short, they take everything into account.

And again, they are separated by tiers, from pre-New Year’s Day bowl games to New Year’s Day bowl games to New Year’s Six bowl games to College Football Playoff bowl games.

So take a look at where the Vols will go along with other SEC and elite teams based on the body of work so far and what’s to come. Here are our official Bowl Projections following Week Six of the college football season.

Aug 28, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; General exterior view of NRG Stadium before a NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Houston Texans. NRG Stadium will play host to Super Bowl LI on Feb 5, 2017. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-New Year’s Day Bowl Projections Part I

Texas Bowl: Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 9 p.m.; NRG Stadium; Houston, Texas

Missouri Tigers vs Oklahoma State Cowboys

They had a much-needed bye week, and with only 10 SEC teams going to bowl games, the Missouri Tigers can now get to a decent one. Barry Odom’s team has a good enough defense with a good enough quarterback in Drew Lock to get to 6-6 when you consider their schedule in the SEC East. All they have to do is beat the Vanderbilt Commodores, Kentucky Wildcats, and South Carolina Gamecocks while winning their final non-conference game against MTSU.

In our bowl projections, we’re calling for a rematch between the Tigers and a former Big 12 opponent, which in this case remains the Oklahoma State Cowboys. After all, they’re going to be the fourth best team in the Big 12 behind the Baylor Bears, Oklahoma Sooners, and West Virginia Mountaineers this year. And that puts them here.

Belk Bowl: Thursday, Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m.; Bank of America Stadium; Charlotte, N.C.

Georgia Bulldogs vs Miami Hurricanes

Who doesn’t love this idea? Mark Richt going to face his former team in his first bowl game with his new team? Well, we are calling for that in our bowl projections this year. The Georgia Bulldogs still have to face the Auburn Tigers and Florida Gators, so they’re likely to finish 8-4 this year. Being third in the SEC East will send Kirby Smart’s team to the Belk Bowl, a place where they have been recently.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes only have one loss, but they’re still rebuilding. And they haven’t yet beat anybody significant, so we project they will slip down the ACC. That’ll put them here, which the fans and media would love. Just for the TV exposure, the Belk Bowl would try to go for this.

Sep 20, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; General view of the Liberty Bowl before the game between the Memphis Tigers and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Pre-New Year’s Day Bowl Projections Part II

Liberty Bowl: Friday, Dec. 30 at Noon; Liberty Bowl; Memphis, Tenn.

Arkansas Razorbacks vs Kansas State Wildcats

After a 49-30 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide, Bret Bielema’s Arkansas Razorbacks are now 4-2 on the year. Unfortunately, they still have to face the Florida Gators, Ole Miss Rebels, Auburn Tigers, and LSU Tigers. So 7-5 or 8-4 seems to be likely for this team once again only because of how brutal their football schedule is.

That’ll put them back in the Liberty Bowl, where they could easily bring a lot of fans. Meanwhile, we have them facing the Kansas State Wildcats in our bowl projections. Bill Snyder’s team is 3-2 and likely to finish right in the middle of the Big 12.

Music City Bowl: Friday, Dec. 30 at 3:30 p.m.; Nissan Stadium; Nashville, Tenn.

LSU Tigers vs N.C. State Wolfpack

This is no knock on Ed Orgeron, but as we’ve already noted, the SEC West remains the most brutal division in all of college football. And given their injuries and turmoil, we have the LSU Tigers going to the Music City Bowl this year. They will face the Florida Gators eventually, but they still have to take on the Ole Miss Rebels, Texas A&M Aggies, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Arkansas Razorbacks. It’ll be hard to get to an elite bowl with that schedule.

Meanwhile, the N.C. State Wolfpack are humming under Dave Doeren. They’ll likely wake up with the rest of their ACC schedule, but it’ll be enough for a decent bowl game against the LSU Tigers.

Jan 1, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; The newly renovated Florida Citrus Bowl during the 2015 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Missouri wins 33-17 over Minnesota. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

New Year’s Day Bowl Projections

TaxSlayer Bowl: Saturday, Dec. 31 at 11 a.m.; EverBank Field; Jacksonville, Fla.

Auburn Tigers vs Florida State Seminoles

The Auburn Tigers are getting better and better under Gus Malzahn, and after last week’s blowout win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Now, after a 1-2 start that came to two undefeated teams, they look like a team to finish strong in the SEC West. They’ll get a much-needed bye week and likely fall back to the middle of the pack with the Ole Miss Rebels, Arkansas Razorbacks, Georgia Bulldogs, and Alabama Crimson Tide still up.

Still, they’ll do enough to get to a New Year’s Day bowl. And the Florida State Seminoles will be another great ACC opponent for them. Jimbo Fisher’s team will get the invite to stay in Florida after being rejected from the New Year’s Six.

Citrus Bowl: Saturday, Dec. 31 at 11 a.m.; Camping World Stadium; Orlando, Fla.

Ole Miss Rebels vs Nebraska Cornhuskers

Right now, the Ole MIss Rebels look like they’re in prime position to finish in the upper-echelon of the SEC East. They still have to face the LSU Tigers, Texas A&M Aggies, Auburn Tigers, and Arkansas Razorbacks. But at 3-2 and with Alabama out of the way, Hugh Freeze’s team has enough talent to keep moving up and becoming the top SEC team not to make a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Meanwhile, the Nebraska Cornhuskers would travel to Florida for this bowl game, as they wouldn’t make a New Year’s Six game at this point but would be the top Big Ten tea not to make it.

Outback Bowl: Monday, Jan. 2 at 1 p.m.; Raymond James Stadium; Tampa, Fla.

Florida Gators vs Wisconsin Badgers

After ducking the LSU Tigers, the Florida Gators are in prime position to finish second, or maybe first, in the SEC East now. However, they’re nowhere near good enough to actually win the conference. So they’ll beat up on mediocre teams and get two more losses. Then, because they play in Florida, Jim McElwain’s team will get an undeserved invite to the Outback Bowl.

In the bowl, they’ll face the Wisconsin Badgers, who will have a great season under Paul Chryst but simply won’t do enough to reach a New Year’s Six bowl game. It’s a typical Wisconsin team.

Jan 9, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; A general view of the Orange Bowl trophy at media day at Phoenix Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

New Year’s Six Bowl Projections Part I

Orange Bowl: Friday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m.; Hard Rock Stadium; Miami Gardens, Fla.

Louisville Cardinals vs West Virginia Mountaineers

We had this bowl game last week in the New Year’s Six, and we’re not changing this week. The Louisville Cardinals will finish with just one loss to the Clemson Tigers, but it will be enough to get into the Orange Bowl, where the top ACC team not in the College Football Playoff goes. Bobby Petrino and Lamar Jackson could be headed for a shootout as well.

After all, they look to be on track to face the West Virginia Mountaineers at this point. Dana Holgorsen’s squad is undefeated after a decent schedule, and they’re good enough to finish in the top two of the Big 12. They won’t make the playoff, but they’ll have a surprisingly good season.

Cotton Bowl: Monday, Jan. 2 at 1 p.m.; AT&T Stadium; Arlington, Texas

Arizona State Sun Devils vs Baylor Bears

Last week, we had the Texas A&M Aggies and Baylor Bears in what would make for an epic Texas game. This week, however, Texas A&M is in a better spot. For now, however, we’ll keep the Baylor Bears in there. However, even if they go undefeated, their pathetic strength of schedule should keep them out of the College Football Playoff. So we’re putting them in the Cotton Bowl in our bowl projections.

Meanwhile, the Arizona State Sun Devils replace another wildcard Pac-12 team. Last week, we thought the Stanford Cardinal would be the wildcard team, but they lost again, so they’re out. The Sun Devils finally proved themselves against the UCLA Bruins, so they look like they’ll be the team to finish second in the Pac-12 at this point. But if the second-best team is in the Cotton Bowl, that means something else. And from there we go to our next bowl.

Dec 29, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of the Leishman trophy at media day for the 2015 Rose Bowl at the L.A. Hotel Downtown. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

New Year’s Six Bowl Projections Part II

Rose Bowl: Monday, Jan. 2 at 5 p.m.; Rose Bowl; Pasadena, Calif.

Ohio State Buckeyes vs Washington Huskies

We’re keeping Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl for our bowl projections simply because we project that they will lose to the Michigan Wolverines. Just like last year, the Buckeyes will be the fifth team in the College Football Playoff rankings. And that’ll put them in the Rose Bowl as the best Big Ten team not in the playoff.

Meanwhile, the Washington Huskies fell out of our playoff. Sorry, but even with an undefeated record, they have absolutely no business getting into the playoff due to their pathetic strength of schedule. The only way they should is if the chips fall a certain way, and as we’ll get to in our playoff, they don’t look like they will.

Sugar Bowl: Monday, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m.; Mercedez-Benz Superdome; New Orleans, La.

Tennessee Volunteers vs Boise State Broncos

At 5-1, the Tennessee Vols are now projected to finish 10-2 and then lose the SEC Championship game. That should still be enough to get them in a New Year’s Six game in our bowl projections, and they’ll go to the Sugar Bowl as the top SEC team not in the College Football Playoff. This is something unchanged from last week. However, we have changed their opponent.

The Boise State Broncos are now the top Group of Five team on our list. They don’t deserve to be, but the Houston Cougars will lose to the Louisville Cardinals down the stretch and put this team at the top among those groups with its easy schedule. So they’ll head to New Orleans to face the Vols in the Sugar Bowl.

Jul 21, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock speaks to the media during the Big 12 Media Days at Omni Dallas. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

College Football Playoff Semifinal Part I

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl: Saturday, Dec. 31 at 3 or 7 p.m.; Georgia Dome; Atlanta, Ga.

College Football Playoff Semifinal

Alabama Crimson Tide vs Clemson Tigers

There is a reason we knocked the Washington Huskies out of the playoff, and we’ll get to that in the next slide of our bowl projections. However, a result of that reason will cause the Alabama Crimson Tide to play the Clemson Tigers in a national championship rematch.

We are not predicting the Tide and Nick Saban to go undefeated, but we are projecting it right now. And based on those projections, they will be the No. 1 seed in the country because once their schedule is over, they will have by far the most impressive resume in the country.

Meanwhile, the Tigers and Dabo Swinney are still a borderline lock to run the table in the ACC and go undefeated again, but their record will put them at No. 3 in the College Football Playoff due to their strength of schedule.

The Tide will go to the Peach Bowl because they will get the home field advantage as the No. 1 overall seed.

Because of who the No. 4 team is, the Tide will face the Tigers in the Peach Bowl. We’ll obviously get to that No. 1 seed, but this would be an amazing bowl game. Clemson and Alabama border the state of Georgia on opposite sides.

This would be the perfect spot for the rematch of last year’s national championship.

Jan 9, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; General view of the college football playoff trophy during media day at Phoenix Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

College Football Playoff Semifinal Part II

Fiesta Bowl: Saturday, Dec. 31 at 3 or 7 p.m.; University of Phoenix Stadium; Glendale, Ariz.

College Football Playoff Semifinal

Texas A&M Aggies vs Michigan Wolverines

Now you know why we moved down Washington, changed Clemson’s spot in the College Football Playoff, and kept Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl in our bowl projections. The Texas A&M Aggies could make it the first time in the playoff that two teams from a conference reach the Final Four.

After last week’s win, the Aggies have an amazing resume. If they lose to the Tide and win out while the Tide go undefeated and win the SEC Championship, both teams would have to be in the top four at the end of the year. And Texas A&M with one loss to Alabama would have a WAY better resume than an undefeated Baylor, Washington, or Group of Five team. So they would have to go.

If that happened to Kevin Sumlin’s team, they would be the No. 4 seed and face the Michigan Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh as the No. 2 seed in Arizona.

We had Michigan facing Clemson in this bowl game last week, but obviously, the need to avoid a rematch would force the Aggies and Tide to play in different College Football Playoff semifinal games. That puts them here in our bowl projections.

So who wins a match-up between this high-powered Texas A&M offense and the blue-collar, Jim Harbaugh coached Michigan Wolverines defense?

That brings us to our projected national championship game.

Sep 5, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; The AFCA Coaches Trophy presented by Amway, prior to kickoff of Florida State Seminoles and Mississippi Rebels. The Waterford Crystal Football will be presented to the No. 1 team in the Amway Coaches Poll and national champion at the end of the season. It has been awarded to the Coaches National Champion since 1986 and made available to all Coaches Poll winners since 1950. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

National Title Game Projection

College Football Playoff National Championship

Monday, Jan. 9; Raymond James Stadium; Tampa, Fla.

Alabama Crimson Tide vs Michigan Wolverines

We’re not changing our national championship projection from last week to this week. All the math points to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Michigan Wolverines being the top two teams in college football. So we have them meeting for the national championship in our bowl projections.

As we already said, this would be a beyond thrilling national title game. Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh are two coaching icons beyond anybody else. They both like to open up the offense with efficient quarterback play and elite defense.

Harbaugh is the new superstar as a coach who could overtake Saban’s empire. And the animosity between the two would make for an epic clash.

Alabama last week was going to get here with a Peach Bowl win over the Washington Huskies. This week, it’s with a win over the Clemson Tigers. They’d beat Clemson due to the Tigers’ weak defense, and Saban would be more prepared for Deshaun Watson in this game.

Meanwhile, the Texas A&M Aggies have a ton of talent but would likely get caught facing a physical team like Michigan. And Harbaugh’s horizontal offenses would torch John Chavis.

Winner: Michigan Wolverines

We’re not changing from this pick after last week. Harbaugh is the future superstar of college football and will overtake Nick Saban in the process.

This is the year for him to do that.

Even though the Alabama is the top team in the country, Michigan has the perfect recipe for beating them this year.

So nothing’s changed. Right now, our bowl projections end with Michigan beating Alabama in the national championship.