Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee Football: Where Will the Vols Finish Ranked if they Win the Music City Bowl?

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

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Tennessee football is entering the Music City Bowl against the Nebraska Cornhuskers unranked and 8-4. Where will they finish in the Top 25 if they win?

We’re a far cry from the No. 9 ranking Tennessee football enjoyed at the beginning of the season and after its 5-0 start. The Vols are now unranked in the AP and Coaches’ Polls.

And their No. 21 College Football Playoff ranking is little comfort.

But their opponent in the Music City Bowl, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, gives them at least a chance to finish off the season in the Top 25. Essentially, they’re in the same position they were in last year: unranked and set to face a Top 25 Big Ten team in their bowl game to finish in the Top 25.

If Tennessee beats Nebraska, the lowest they could finish in the Coaches’ Poll is three spots out of the Top 25.

Only three games featuring teams ranked higher than them would assure that the loser falls below them: San Diego State and Houston, Iowa and Florida, LSU and Louisville.

Meanwhile, beating Nebraska would make the Cornhuskers fall below them as well.

However, to guarantee a Top 25 finish, they need a few upsets or some generosity from the voters.

Washington State, Navy, Boise State, Pittsburgh, Temple, Utah, South Florida, Virginia Tech, and Stanford all play teams ranked below the Vols.

If three of them can lose and Butch Jones’s team wins, then Tennessee football will at least have a second straight Top 25 finish.

In the AP Poll, however, it’s a bit different. The Vols are only guaranteed to finish at lowest six spots out of the Top 25. Air Force and Texas A&M are extra team ahead of them in those rankings, and both of them play teams below the Vols in their bowl games.

Meanwhile, San Diego State is below them, so that eliminates one game guaranteed to help catapult them.

Simply put, after starting the year ranked in the Top 10, Tennessee football needs lots of help to finish in the Top 25.

That’s not a good look, and it’s becoming an all-too-common thing. After all, the last two times the Vols started in the Top 10, 2002 and 2005, they also finished up outside of the Top 25.

Even if they should not fire Jones yet, it’s safe to call this season a disappointment no matter what. But a win to close out the season could at least put a positive note on it.

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