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Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11

Wiedmer: Vols’ next big test to reach a bowl comes against South Carolina

AP photo by John Bazemore / South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp celebrates after the Gamecocks returned an interception for a touchdown during the first half of Saturday's game at Georgia.
AP photo by John Bazemore / South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp celebrates after the Gamecocks returned an interception for a touchdown during the first half of Saturday's game at Georgia. AP photo by John Bazemore / South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp celebrates after the Gamecocks returned an interception for a touchdown during the first half of Saturday's game at Georgia.

The last time the Tennessee Volunteers won a Southeastern Conference football game in October, they didn’t win another one until November.

With Alabama on tap Saturday night in Tuscaloosa and a suddenly dangerous South Carolina team scheduled to visit the Vols’ Neyland Stadium the following week, that bit of history from the 2018 season when Tennessee upset a ranked Auburn team in October could easily repeat itself this time around.

But let’s say the Vols do lose to both the top-ranked Crimson Tide and the Gamecocks – and good as South Carolina was stunning Georgia this past Saturday, there is certainly no guarantee it wins in Knoxville – can the Vols still go bowling? Are there still four wins on the board if they lose to both Bama and the Garnet Roosters?

It says here that such a scenario is still possible, though the margin for error shrinks dramatically.

A little math is in order. Unless a bizarre set of circumstances emerges, you need a minimum of six wins to become bowl eligible. Tennessee currently has two victories versus four losses with six games to go.