KNOXVILLE - Kyle Phillips first suggested the possibility after Tennessee's 58-21 loss to top-ranked Alabama on Saturday.
"I think we can win out, and that's what we plan on doing," Phillips said.
The remark could have been dismissed as an emotional wish from the senior defensive end following a tough loss.
Then another one of Tennessee's defensive linemen suggested the possibility Tuesday.
"I'd like to win out and go to a bowl game as a senior," Shy Tuttle said.
All five opponents remaining on the schedule appear beatable, and Tennessee (3-4, 1-3 SEC) needs only three wins to become bowl-eligible.
But bowl projection specialists are not buying the optimism projected by the Vols' senior defensive linemen.
Out of projections by ESPN, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports released early this week, only one predicts the Volunteers will play in a bowl game this season. ESPN's Mitch Sherman is projecting that Tennessee will play Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 22.
Of the Vols' remaining opponents, only No. 12 Kentucky (6-1) is ranked. The Wildcats aside, the Vols' other four remaining opponents have a combined record of 13-15.
Tennessee was also 3-4 at this point last season but lost four of its final five games in a dismal ending not entirely forgotten.
"Yeah, ever since last year and the offseason we've been telling ourselves we aren't going to be in (that) position," Tuttle said. "We talk about it every day."
A game at South Carolina (3-3, 2-3) on Saturday night is the first test in the quest to make this season different. The Gamecocks defeated the Vols 15-9 at Neyland Stadium last season.
Making a bowl game would give Tennessee extra practices and establish progress in Jeremy Pruitt's first year as head coach after last season's program-worst record. If the Vols pull it off, the feat will have been accomplished in the wake of a historic Alabama performance. No opposing team has ever scored more points at Neyland Stadium than the Crimson Tide did on Saturday.
"It's a challenge to the players that, in my opinion, aren't doing it the right way or willing to turn it loose and go," Pruitt said. "We got beat 58-21, so, I mean I think the guys on our team know where they stack up in that deal. For us to get where we need to get to, we need some of the guys that do it the right way to demand that - whether it's their roommates, their friends, their teammates - that they get on the same level as them."
Tennessee's senior defensive linemen seem to understand that message.
"It's my last go-around in college," Tuttle said. "I'm trying to do everything the right way and have the most fun doing it."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.