Vanderbilt football bowl projections after Week 14, where Vandy could end up
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If No. 12 Vanderbilt is left out of the College Football Playoffs, as it certainly appears will happen, the Commodores will have to recalibrate and play in a bowl game to end the 2025 season.
The Commodores qualified for a bowl earlier in the 2025 season when it reached its sixth win, marking only the second time in school history that Vanderbilt has been bowl eligible in back-to-back seasons. The other time came from 2011-13 when Vanderbilt went to the Liberty Bowl, Music City Bowl and BBVA Compass Bowl.
Vanderbilt played in the Dec. 27 Birmingham Bowl in 2024 and beat Georgia Tech, 35−27.
The Commodores (10-2), who are No. 14 in the penultimate CFP rankings, are likely headed to a more prestigious bowl this season.
For the first time since playing in their first bowl (Gator) in 1955, the Commodores could end up in an upper tier bowl in Florida.
The most likely destinations are the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa and the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. The Citrus Bowl has the top pick of SEC teams that don’t qualify for the playoff, while the SEC assigns teams to the next tier of bowls that includes the ReliaQuest and Gator. The ReliaQuest and Gator are typically for the top two SEC teams that did not qualify for the playoff or get selected for the Citrus.
Vanderbilt football bowl projections after Week 14
Athlon: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Iowa (8-4)
CBS: Citrus Bowl vs. Michigan (9-3)
College Football News: Gator Bowl vs. Miami (10-2)
ESPN: Gator Bowl vs. Miami (10-2)
Sports Illustrated: Gator Bowl vs Miami (10-2)
The Sporting News: Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. Miami (10-2)
USA TODAY: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Iowa (8-4)
Yahoo: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Iowa (8-4)
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football bowl projections: ReliaQuest, Gator Bowl top possibilities
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