A Look At Tennessee's Latest Bowl Projections Following Road Loss to South Carolina

Tennessee saw its playoff host vanquished last night, as the Vols had no answer for South Carolina's offense. The Gamecocks hammered Tennessee 62-38 on Saturday night. Now, with one game left, Tennessee still has a chance to get its first ten-win season since 2003 and earn a solid bowl bid. Following Saturday night's disastrous loss, we take a look at where Tennessee's latest bowl projections stand. 

CBS Sports

Cotton Bowl vs UCF

Reasoning: "Tennessee's loss also creates a reordering of the SEC teams in New Year's Six games. However, because the Vols are dropping to the bottom of that list of four, it does not change the bowl projections for LSU or Alabama. The Tigers are still expected to meet Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl, while Alabama remains in the Orange Bowl as the highest-ranked team remaining from the SEC, Big Ten or Notre Dame"

247 Sports

Cotton Bowl vs Tulane

Reasoning: "Will Penn State or Tennessee squeak into the New Year's Six at 10-2? There's likely not enough room for both and the final selection committee rankings will dictate where these teams go. Tulane moves back in the Cotton Bowl projection this week following its win over SMU and UCF falling flat against Navy at home. The Cotton Bowl is always one to watch because one team often shows up motivated and the other? Not so much."

As it stands, the Vols resume is still clearly better than Penn State which favors Tennessee to slip into the at-large spot. There is still plenty of potential for chaos in the AAC as well, which means, UCF, Tulane and Cincinnati could all end up eliminated. The Vols have to take care of Vanderbilt, likely without Hendon Hooker so this will be important an eye-test. An eleven win season is still in play, and the Vols have to avoid a late collapse to prevent putting a black eye on a season that certainly exceeded pre-season expectations.