A Tennessee Fan’s Guide to the Second Bye Week

By Tucker Harlin

The second bye week has arrived for Tennessee.

Without a game to break down, I can’t give you any kind of “keys to victory” this weekend. But what I can do is give you advice on what to hope for during the Vols’ second idle week.

Tennessee’s next opponent on schedule is Kentucky, who hosts Auburn this weekend.

I don’t foresee the outcome of this game creating a bearing in Neyland Stadium next week. I anticipate a close but ugly game in Lexington Saturday night, but I don’t imagine Kentucky coming to Knoxville an inspired team.

Arkansas at Mississippi State is a matchup to keep an eye on since the Vols play the Bulldogs in two weeks.

Despite it winning against Tennessee, Arkansas has too many losses for it to contend for an SEC title. The Vols would rather Arkansas win in order to quell any momentum Mississippi State may develop in the next couple of weeks.

The three ranked matchups in the SEC don’t have desirable outcome for the Vols.

If Texas beats Vanderbilt, the Longhorns stay afloat for an opportunity at an SEC championship berth. If the opposite happens, Vandy suddenly has more momentum for the final month of the season.

Missouri at Alabama isn’t one with a good side to root for. This fan base hates Eli Drinkwitz and it prefers Alabama doesn’t have a door reopened for a CFP appearance.

The good news for Tennessee fans in the Texas A&M at LSU is one of those teams has to lose its first conference game. The problem is the team that wins now has a nice path to the SEC championship ahead of it.

Outside of the SEC, there are a handful of ranked matchups Tennessee would appreciate turning into upsets.

If Illinois and Navy did the unthinkable against Oregon and Notre Dame it would make for a chaotic weekend. Notre Dame is Public Enemy #1 for any power four school due to its status as an independent, so a loss to any school in the group of five ranks would devastate.

There are two matchups featuring a ranked and unranked team outside of the SEC that bear watching.

Both Penn State and BYU are sitting unbeaten and in prime position to appear in the Big 10 and Big 12 title games. The Nittany Lions go to Wisconsin while the Cougars play UCF in the Bounce House.

Both the Badgers and Knights have dealt with their fair share of struggles in the first half of the season, but keep your eyes open for a trap game.