Music City Bowl: Tennessee vs. Nebraska Predictions

In SEC Football by Blake Lovell

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Location: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN

Date and Time: December 30, 3:30 PM ET (ESPN)

Tennessee’s 2016 regular season was made for Hollywood.

It was no secret what the Vols aspired to do: win an SEC championship and have a shot at playing for the national title.

But even in game one, something didn’t feel right. After trailing Appalachian State for much of the game, quarterback Josh Dobbs hit Josh Malone for a 67-yard score to tie things up in the fourth quarter. The Vols went on to win the game in overtime, but still, it wasn’t the performance that anyone expected from a preseason Top 10 team.

However, things got better. Tennessee beat Virginia Tech in front of the largest college football crowd in history at Bristol Motor Speedway. A few weeks later, it beat Florida for the first time since 2004.

After that, of course, came this:

Butch Jones’ team was 5-0 and on top of the world. And then everything started to crumble.

A tough double overtime loss at Texas A&M was nothing to be upset about. However, the 49-10 home loss to No. 1 Alabama the following week was a little more concerning.

Then there was South Carolina. With the Vols coming off a much-needed bye week given all the injuries, it seemed likely that Jones would have his team refreshed and ready to go for stretch run of the season. Tennessee lost 24-21.

Three straight wins after that wasn’t enough to wipe away the disappointment of October. There was running back Jalen Hurd leaving the program. There was Jones and his “champions of life” remark that didn’t do a struggling team any favors. The season-ending loss at Vanderbilt only made things worse.

And all that leads to this: what’s next for Jones and Tennessee? That’s a loaded question, but something that is certain is a meeting in Nashville with Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers had their own success early in the season, reeling off seven straight wins before a deflating overtime loss at Wisconsin. Much like Tennessee, Nebraska followed up its overtime heartbreak with a similar crushing defeat, as the Cornhuskers fell 62-3 at Ohio State.

Things weren’t the same afterwards, and the 40-10 road loss at Iowa to wrap up the regular season was another sign of Nebraska’s struggles away from home.

Which brings us to the Music City Bowl matchup itself.

On one side, you have a Tennessee program with more questions than answers. Bob Shoop’s defense gave up a whopping 1,983 yards in the last three games of the season, which came against three offenses – Kentucky, Missouri and Vandy – that didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard for most of the season.

There are also concerns about the motivation level of the Vols. Is this team thrilled about playing in the Music City Bowl given how things have unfolded this season?

As for Nebraska, a nine-win season in the Big Ten is nothing to scoff at. But just like Tennessee, the Huskers found themselves with title aspirations before things fell apart late. Their motivation level also has to be questioned.

So, to recap: Both teams had a disappointing finish and are hard to trust. That makes picking a winner difficult.

However, through all the ups and downs, Tennessee has been able to trust its fearless leader.

No, it’s not Jones. It’s Dobbs.

This will be the last time that Dobbs takes the field for the Vols. And despite the obvious inconsistencies that he’s had in the passing game, he’s been a true leader on and off the field. He’s been a great example for what it means to be a student-athlete (remember, he majored in aerospace engineering), and it’s going to be difficult for Tennessee to replace all the intangibles that he brings to the program.

In what will essentially be a home game for the Vols, Dobbs finds a way to fuel his team to victory in earning the type of sendoff that he deserves.

Music City Bowl Prediction: Tennessee 34, Nebraska 24

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