ESPN’s Bowl Projections Reveal Two Surprising Destinations for Tennessee

It took exactly one week for college football’s favorite fall tradition to return, and that is arguing about where teams will be playing in December and beyond.

ESPN writers Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach released their Week 1 College Football Playoff and bowl projections on Sept. 8, and Tennessee landed in two very different, but intriguing, postseason matchups.

Bonagura projects Tennessee against UCF in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Schlabach sends the Volunteers farther west, matching Tennessee with Baylor in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl in Houston.

For Tennessee fans, the immediate reaction might be simple: Is that really the ceiling?

Probably not.

But that isn’t what these projections are saying, either.

Tennessee Made Quite the First Impression

Tennessee opened the 2026 season by hammering Furman 56-9 in Neyland Stadium. Freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon made his college debut look remarkably comfortable, completing 13 of 17 passes for 226 yards while adding 68 rushing yards. More importantly, Brandon accounted for five touchdowns, three through the air and two on the ground, tying Tennessee’s freshman record for total touchdowns in a game.

That performance earned Brandon SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Tennessee also piled up 638 yards of total offense, including 329 on the ground.

Yes, it was Furman. Nobody in Knoxville is ordering playoff tickets based on one Saturday.

But five touchdowns from a freshman quarterback in his debut will get your attention.

rocky top views ⛰️ pic.twitter.com/yh7xh3imER
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 7, 2026

Bonagura: Tennessee vs. UCF

Bonagura’s Liberty Bowl projection would provide one of the more entertaining storylines of bowl season.

Tennessee. UCF. Josh Heupel.

Heupel coached UCF from 2018-20 before taking over at Tennessee in 2021, meaning a matchup with the Knights would naturally become one of the bowl season’s more talked-about reunions.

There is also the location. Playing in Memphis would essentially give Tennessee a postseason game in its home state. It isn’t difficult to imagine Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium containing considerably more orange than black and gold.

Fun matchup? Absolutely.

Destination Tennessee fans are dreaming about in September? Probably not.

Schlabach: Tennessee vs. Baylor

Schlabach offers a different possibility, projecting Tennessee against Baylor in the Texas Bowl.

That would send the Vols to Houston for an SEC-Big 12 matchup at NRG Stadium. It lacks the Heupel-UCF storyline, but Tennessee against Baylor would still give fans an interesting Power Four postseason matchup.

Again, though, we are talking about a projection made after one game.

There is an enormous amount of football left.

The Vols Can Change the Conversation Quickly

The first opportunity comes Saturday night.

Tennessee travels to Atlanta for a 7 p.m. ET matchup with Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The programs have not played since Tennessee’s wild 42-41 double-overtime victory in 2017.

The Vols have not visited Bobby Dodd Stadium since 1986.

Dec 31, 2009; Atlanta, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive end Chris Walker (84) reacts on the bench late in the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the fourth quarter of the 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl at The Georgia Dome. Virginia Tech defeated Tennessee 37-14. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Then things get interesting.

Tennessee hosts Kennesaw State before beginning an SEC schedule that includes Texas, Auburn, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas A&M, LSU, and Vanderbilt.

In other words, nobody needs to get too worked up about a September bowl projection.

Bonagura sees UCF in Memphis.

Schlabach sees Baylor in Houston.

Tennessee’s job is to make both projections obsolete.

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