Tennessee’s overtime win at Mississippi State this past Saturday kept the Vols’ playoff chances alive in a big way. The Vols avoid entering the month of October with two losses, which gives the team a lot more room to work with going into the rest of the schedule. The door to the playoffs is still open for Tennessee, but there’s a lot more football to be played before we get there. The Vols still have big tests coming up, including games at Alabama and Florida and a home game against Oklahoma.
Josh Heupel’s group is sitting at 4-1 through the first five weeks of the season. The Vols have wins over Syracuse and Mississippi State, who both rank in the Top 75 of ESPN’s Football Power Index, and a quality loss to Georgia. Tennessee now enters an open date this weekend to rest and recover before heading back into SEC play with a revenge game against Arkansas in Knoxville the following week.
ESPN recently updated its college football bowl season projections on Monday following Week 5 action over the weekend. Tennessee has two interesting projections, neither involving the playoffs, but one is a matchup that would see the Vols take on multiple former teammates.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach has Tennessee projected to face Florida State in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl to close out its season. The SEC-ACC game will take place on Saturday, Dec. 27, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, FL.
The Seminoles are coming off an upset loss at the hands of Virginia in Scott Stadium this past Friday night. It’s their first ‘L’ on a 2025 schedule that also includes wins over Alabama, East Texas A&M, and Kent State. The loss hurt the Seminoles, though, dropping their chances to win the ACC to 5.0% and their chances to make the playoffs to 11.9%, according to ESPN Analytics.
Aside from the obvious 1998 BCS National Championship rematch storyline, the game would also feature Tennessee facing a few former teammates who departed through the transfer portal in recent years.
Florida State has former Tennessee Vols Squirrel White, Jayson Jenkins, and Elijah Herring.
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White spent three seasons at Tennessee before transferring out this past offseason. Through four games this season, he’s behind the pace of each of his seasons on Rocky Top with four receptions for 52 yards, while still looking for his first touchdown. White also takes the punt return duties for the Seminoles.
Jenkins also played three seasons at Tennessee before transferring to Mike Norvell’s roster during the offseason. He and White committed to Florida State on the same day in early January 2025. Jenkins has six tackles for the Seminoles this season as a rotational defensive lineman.
Former Tennessee linebacker Elijah Herring is a big contributor to the Noles’ defense. Herring played two seasons at Tennessee in 2022 and 2023 before transferring to Memphis for the 2024 season. He then left the Volunteer State to join the Florida State program this past offseason. Through four games, he has 14 total tackles, one sack, and one interception. His 14 tackles rank fourth on the Seminoles’ defense.
Seeing those three players would certainly be an interesting storyline for Tennessee at the close of the season. It would also mean a contest between two brothers, with Florida State linebacker Elijah Herring and Tennessee EDGE rusher Caleb Herring.
The other projection comes from ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, who has Tennessee projected to take on Georgia Tech in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Friday, January 2. That game will be played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.
The Yellow Jackets don’t have any former Tennessee players like Florida State, but there is an interesting connection nonetheless. Tennessee is currently scheduled to take on Georgia Tech in an early-season contest during the 2026 season.
To see ESPN’s complete post-Week 5 College Football Bowl Projections, click here.
