Music City Bowl: North Carolina vs. Tennessee
By Ty Duffy
Scheduling: Tennesee bought out a home and home series with North Carolina in 2011-12 for $750,000. They wanted an easier schedule. They now play a non-conference slate of Montana, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Middle Tennessee next year. Six wins assured. College Football, “The Best Regular Season in Sports.”
Scandal: North Carolina lost a raft of players to ineligibility and suspensions from improper benefits and academic scandals, including potential top 20 picks Robert Quinn and Marvin Austin. Newton-gate and the flux of the regular season overshadowed this. It will heat back up when the NCAA holds its Committee on Infractions.
Orange Crush: The Music City Bowl, featuring Tennessee in Tennessee, sold out. This must mean people love bowl games.
For North Carolina to Win: The Tar Heels will be short-handed at running back. They need a strong passing performance from T.J. Yates. On defense, they should press their advantage on freshman quarterback Tyler Bray. He has been promising but erratic. They can pressure and have the playmakers in the secondary to force mistakes.
For Tennessee to Win: Tennessee needs to get pressure on T.J. Yates and force turnovers. In their four-game winning streak that closed the season, they had 13 sacks and capitalized on 15 turnovers. On offense, they aren’t a great running team. They need to protect Tyler Bray, put him in positions where he can be successful and hope he can convert on key third downs.
Prediction: The Tar Heels came razor close to winning their last two bowl games. Against a freshman quarterback, I think they get it done here.
[Photo via Getty]