Latest bowl game projection has Tennessee making its first appearance in a bowl game that's been around for over 30 years
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The Tennessee Vols are hoping to return to the 12-team College Football Playoff in 2026 after coming up a bit short in 2025.
Tennessee, which made the playoff in 2024, went 8-5 last season, including a loss to Illinois in the Music City Bowl.
Vols head coach Josh Heupel made it clear this week that winning a national championship is his ultimate goal at Tennessee, but a lot of things out of the Vols’ control will need to go right for that to happen this season.
CBS Sports makes bowl game prediction for Tennessee
CBS Sports doesn’t think the Volunteers will reach their championship goals in 2026.
In fact, they don’t even think Tennessee will make the College Football Playoff.
Instead, CBS Sports predicts that Tennessee will play Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
The Vols have never played in the Las Vegas Bowl before (the game has been played annually since 1992).
The Texas A&M Aggies were the last SEC team to play in the Las Vegas Bowl. Texas A&M played in the game in 2024 after going 8-4 during the regular season. Additionally, the Florida Gators played in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2022 after going 6-6 during the regular season.
So that means CBS Sports is expecting Tennessee to have a season in 2026 similar to the one the Vols had in 2025 (or worse).
Tennessee obviously has their sights set higher, but the good news is that predictions have absolutely zero bearing on what will actually happen once the games start this fall.
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Mar 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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