Bold Predictions: Tennessee-Purdue

The Volunteer Country staff goes BOLD with predictions for the Vols' bowl game against Purdue

The Tennessee Volunteers (7-5) will take on the Purdue Boilermakers (8-4) in the Music City Bowl in Nashville on December 30 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The Vols enter the game having won their final two games of the regular season by a combined 70 points, and Purdue comes into Nashville on an equivalent two-game winning streak with wins over Northwestern and Indiana to close out the Boilermakers' season. 

The Big Ten-SEC Nashville matchup has the chance to give Josh Heupel the best record a first-year Vol head coach has had since Phillip Fulmer in 1992 if Heupel were to win. 

After a wild year with plenty of offensive success in year one under Heupel, the Vols get a chance to finish out the season strong with a win in Tennessee. 

With kickoff hours away, the Volunteer Country staff goes BOLD with the predictions below: 

Matt

Tennessee has a chance to win eight games and carry a tremendous amount of momentum into the off-season. Purdue's defensive coordinator threw some shade at Hendon Hooker earlier in the week saying that he is accurate inside of ten yards but then a 40% passer past that. Give me Tennessee to score two passing touchdowns of 35+ yards with the ball being thrown more than ten yards down the field. Josh Heupel has been excellent at getting his team to start fast out of the gates, and this is a little bulletin board material that should fire up Hendon Hooker and his veteran receiver corps. 

Jack

Since Tiyon Evans went down with an injury before entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, Jabari Small has been very productive, and he has another big day against the Boilermakers. Small is coming off of two games in which he scored two rushing touchdowns in each one, the first time a Tennessee Vol has had two or more rushing scores in back-to-back games since Alvin Kamara did it in 2016. Against Purdue, Small will have another multi-score game on the ground. But this time, it will be three scores. Three scores for Small would make it seven touchdowns in three games. A Tennessee Vol running back has not had seven rushing scores in three consecutive games this century. 

Jake

Leading into this game, we’ve heard a lot about Purdue’s passing attack since the Boilermakers average just over 340 passing yards per game.

Given that Purdue is missing several weapons on offense, however, I think their offense will have some trouble finding its footing — a perfect opportunity for the Vols’ defense to capitalize.

Tennessee should be bringing the heat early, and I think the Vols’ defensive line will reflect that with at least four sacks against Purdue.

Moreover, in his final game in a UT uniform, I’m predicting that Nashville native Theo Jackson will come up with a game-clinching interception.

Dale

With an eighth win within reach for the Volunteers, I think they pull it in, in the state of Tennessee. As mentioned in the predictions, I think this has potential to be a shootout coming down the stretch. between mid-third quarter and the early portion of the fourth quarter, Jabari Small will punch in a touchdown to put the Vols up 35 to 27. On the ensuing Purdue possession, the Tennessee defense will stand tall giving the ball back to the offense where Small will grind out yards and ice the game.

CJ

As much as this game is about the seniors on this team wearing the Power T for the last time, I think we see a glimpse of some future offensive playmakers late in the game. Guys like Velus Jones and Javonta Payton will look to have huge games as it will be their last chance to showcase their talents for the NFL. I said earlier in my staff prediction that Tennessee would pull away late and win by a solid margin, and that could give Josh Heupel an opportunity to give some younger guys a look late in the game. My bold prediction is that freshman WR Walker Merrill scores on a long touchdown pass late in the game. This would also be a big moment for Merrill as he is from the Nashville area, and will likely have a ton of family in attendance.

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