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Music City Bowl Prediction

Well, it has been a long season and it’s not over yet. In fact, some would say that their favorite part of the season is here. It’s College Bowl Season and for the Tennessee Volunteers (6-6) and their fans that means an instate matchup with a border state rival named the North Carolina Tar Heels (7-5).

Most young fans would not consider the Tar Heels a rival. However, the two teams have met 31 times with the Vols holding a 20-10-1 advantage in the series, which hasn’t seen the two meet on the field since 1961 which was a heartbreaking 22-21 loss for the Volunteers.

The current versions of these teams may not know each other well or have a lot in common but there is an eerie similarity in the coach’s records.

Tennessee’s first year head coach Derek Dooley has an overall record dating back to his years at Louisiana Tech of 23-26. Butch Davis’ record at the University of North Carolina is 26-23.

The Tar Heels’ last bowl win was in the 2001 Peach Bowl against Auburn.

Tennessee’s last bowl win was the 2008 Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.

The Vols have opened as slight underdogs to the Tar Heels. Various sources have them anywhere from 1.5 to 3 point underdogs which might be good news for the Vols. Underdogs have won the Music City Bowl in six of the nine games.

The inaugural Music City Bowl was the 1998 edition which pitted Alabama and Virginia Tech. The Hokies destroyed the Crimson Tide 38-7.

True Freshman Eli Manning got his career off to a hot start in the Music City Bowl being thrown into action against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the fourth quarter in 2000. Manning led the Rebels to 22 unanswered points in a 49-38 loss.

The largest crowd in Music City Bowl history is 68,621 which watched the 2007 contest between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Florida State Seminoles.

This year’s matchup should be a mostly orange affair as the Vols should be the home team, wearing their orange jerseys and a good number of Tennessee fans bought up tickets before the Tar Heels even knew they were going to be attending the bowl.

This brings us to the statistical matchup of the two teams.

The Vols come into the game on a four game winning streak and playing as well as they have all year. The freshmen and young contributors are starting to gel and Tennessee fans can only wonder how good their team will look after the bowl practices which amount to an extra spring practice session.

The Vols are averaging 27 points per game while giving up 24.7 on defense.

The Tar Heels are averaging 24.9 points per game and allowing 22.9 while they have won only one of their last three games heading into the December 30th matchup with the Vols.

The Vols and Tar Heels shared a common opponent in 2010 and that was the LSU Tigers. The Tar Heels faced LSU in Atlanta to open the season amid the cheating scandal involving most of their roster. Since and including the 12 players suspended for that game, the Tar Heels have lost over 32 players this season to either injuries or suspensions at various times. Obviously some of those players have since returned.

Tar Heels senior quarterback T.J. Yates is second in the ACC in total offense. He threw for over 400 yards against LSU, FSU, and NC St., as well as 325 yards against UVA.

Two key players are injured and are unlikely to be back for the Heels.

RB Johnny White, who was the Heels most explosive player this season, broke his collarbone in the FSU game and Yates’ favorite target TE Zach Pianalto broke his leg against UVA.

Baring any injuries in practice, the Vols will have most of their players healthy and ready to play.

The Vols will not care about personal achievements when they take the field in Nashville but several of them can reach milestones during the game.

Freshman quarterback Tyler Bray who didn’t play meaningful snaps until the second half of the Vols last loss at South Carolina, needs 463 passing yards to reach 2,000 on the season.

Senior wide receiver Denarius Moore should have an easier time with his milestone. The Vols wide out needs just 88 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the season.

Junior tailback Tauren Poole should have an even easier time getting his six rushing yards which will have him top the century mark for 2010.

The Vols under the on field guidance of Tyler Bray should have a pretty easy time throwing the ball around the field against the Tar Heels. The front seven of the Tar Heels is strong defensively and their quarterback and wide receivers are strong but the defensive backfield will be overmatched against the Vols size and speed.

Bowl games are oftentimes won by the teams that show up focused and prepared. Those are staples of Dooley’s game plans. This game won’t be one that the Vols can show up for and prance to an easy victory, but if they continue what they have been building during the second half of the season, a fifth win in a row and a winning overall record await them.

Prediction: Tennessee 37 Tar Heels 17

One last thing, for those fans attending the game, don’t forget about the MusicFest and Battle of the Bands on Wednesday the 29th from 5-7pm central. MusicFest is the ultimate party atmosphere downtown the night before the game. Thousands of fans will converge on world-famous 2nd Avenue (corner of 2nd & Broadway) for the outdoor party featuring the bands and cheerleaders of the Tennessee Volunteers and North Carolina Tar Heels.

The band Little Texas will perform a FREE concert prior to the Battle of the Bands. Multiple venues will open their doors to Bowl fans for a memorable downtown event where various genres of live music will be played. Also Zac Brown Band will be performing at Bridgestone Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets for that concert are $25.