Music City Bowl matchup: Six teams likely candidates for SEC vs Big Ten

Six teams remain as likely candidates to play in the 2022 TransPerfect Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium.

Some scenarios still need to be played out and the participants won't be officially announced until after the College Football Playoff Selection Show on Sunday (noon CT, ESPN), but the three SEC teams in the mix are Kentucky (7-5), Ole Miss (8-4) and Mississippi State (8-4) and the Big Ten teams are Illinois (8-4), Minnesota (8-4) and Iowa (7-5).

Purdue (8-4) would likely also have been a possibility, if not for the Boilermakers playing Tennessee in the Music City Bowl last year.

The 24th annual game will be played on Dec. 31 (11 a.m., ABC) and Music City Bowl President and CEO Scott Ramsey is happy with the teams from which he has to choose.

"Each of these SEC teams are very accessible fans bases on all three fronts; very drivable fan bases," Ramsey said. "And we've had a great success with all three of them. Illinois and Iowa are two teams we've never hosted. Both are drivable fan bases. Certainly Illinois, under Bret Bielema, is having a rebounding kind of year. We've been very close to hosting Iowa several years. We had them in 2020 the year we had to cancel at the last minute because of COVID. Minnesota under P.J. Fleck is obviously a very different team than when we had them (2002, 2004 and 2005).

Kentucky has played in the Music City Bowl five times, but four of those times came in the first 12 years. The only year the Wildcats have played in the game since 2009 was in 2017 against Northwestern. Kentucky is 2-3 in the game.

Some of the largest crowds in the bowl have shown up when Kentucky played. The average attendance in the Wildcats' five games was 60,372.

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Ole Miss has been in the game twice, losing in 2000 to West Virginia and winning in 2013 over Georgia Tech.

Mississippi State lost to Louisville in the 2019 Music City Bowl and beat Wake Forest in 2011.

Iowa was set to play Missouri in the 2020 bowl before it was canceled due to COVID pandemic just three days three days before the scheduled kickoff.

Minnesota was the first Big Ten team to play in the bowl in 2002 when the Gophers beat Arkansas 29-14. Minnesota returned in 2004 and beat Alabama then lost to Virginia in 2005.

The Music City Bowl has scheduled a news conference for Sunday at 4:45 p.m. to announce the participating teams.

Titans earn highest TV ratings of the season while UT-Vandy ratings were low

The Tennessee Titans earned their highest local television ratings of the season last week in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, while the Tennessee Vols-Vanderbilt Commodores game didn't do so well.

The Titans-Bengals game at Nissan Stadium earned a 23.6 rating, according to WTVF-5 senior programming director Mark Binda. It means 275,766 Nashville households watched the Bengals win 20-16.

That beat the previous high rating for a Titans games this season, which was 23.4 against the New York Giants in the season opener Sept. 11.

The UT-Vanderbilt game played last Saturday at FirstBank Stadium earned a 6.9 rating, meaning 80,626 Nashville households tuned in to see the Vols win 56-0.

Compare that to the UT-Alabama game Oct. 15, which earned a 25.8, or the UT-Georgia game on Nov. 5, which earned a 24.1.

This year's rating was up from the 4.5 (50,450 Nashville households) the game earned in 2021.

Tennessee Sportswriter and Sportscaster of the Year nominees announced

I am honored for the third time to be nominated for Tennessee Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.

The other nominees are Tennessean columnist Gentry Estes, Evan Barnes (Memphis Commercial Appeal), Geoff Calkins (Daily Memphian), Jim Wyatt (Titans.com), Joe Rexrode (The Athletic) and Teresa Walker (Associated Press).

The Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year nominees are Chris Harris (WSMV-4), Jill Jelnick (WZTV-17), Mike Keith (Titans radio), Mike Wallace (Memphis Grizzlies/Grind City media), Pete Weber (Predators radio), Steve Layman (WTVF-5) and Willy Daunic (Predators/Bally Sports).

Winners will be announced on Jan. 9. The 63rd NSMA Awards Weekend & National Convention will be June 24-26 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Beer will be sold at Austin Peay basketball games

Austin Peay athletics director Gerald Harrison announced alcohol will be available for purchase by the general public at men’s and women’s basketball games at the Dunn Center.

A variety of domestic and imported beers will be available for purchase through the arena's licensed vendor, Sodexho, within governing regulations.

Sales will begin at the facility when gates open one hour prior to tip-off and end at the under-12 minute media timeout in the second half of men’s games and at the conclusion of the third quarter of women’s games.

Austin Peay names 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame class

The Austin Peay Athletic Hall of Fame 2023 class includes Tatiana Ariza (soccer), Anthony Bradley (golf), Jordan Hankins (baseball), Johnny Williams (track and field), and Bruce Myers (faculty athletics representative).

Ariza is the only soccer player in school history to be named OVC player of the year (2012) and freshman of the year (2010) in addition to earning All-OVC first team recognition four times.

Bradley is one of only two Austin Peay golfers to compete in the NCAA men's championships as individual (2012) and team member (2013).

Hankins was the second baseman for the Austin Peay baseball team that won three consecutive OVC titles (2011-13). In those three seasons, Hankins had 25 home runs and 151 RBIs while posting a .346 batting average.

Williams ran for the Governors from 1976-78 and was a seven-time OVC champion.

Myers was at Austin Peay from 1994-2015 and served as the faculty athletic representative for 21 years and is still the official scorekeeper for men’s basketball games.

Willie Taggart fired after loss to Western Kentucky

Willie Taggart spent 11 years on the Western Kentucky football coaching staff, including three (2010-12) as the head coach.

Taggart, who became the coach at Florida Atlantic in 2020, was fired a day after after the Owls lost to Western Kentucky 32-31 in overtime last Saturday.

The loss dropped Florida Atlantic's record to 5-7. Taggart was 15-18 overall.

Nick Gulas inducted into Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame

Longtime pro wrestling promoter Nick Gulas, who spent much of his career in Nashville, was inducted posthumously into the Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Gulas, who died in 1991, helped launch the careers of some of the greatest pro wrestlers in history including Don and Jackie Fargo, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Tojo Yamamoto and many others.

Gulas began his career in the 1940s as a manager and promoter in Florida.

He was inducted into the National Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame in 2010.

TSU's Zaire Thornton and Terray Jones transferring

Tennessee State wide receiver Zaire Thornton and defensive tackle Terray Jones entered the transfer portal.

Thornton, a 6-foot-2, sophomore from Atlanta, made the All-OVC second team in 2021 and the 2022 Preseason All-OVC first team.

He had a total of 24 catches for 234 yards and two touchdowns in two seasons.

Jones, a 6-1, 310 pound, two-year starter from Madison, Florida, with one year of eligibility remaining, made the 2022 All-OVC first team after recording 37 tackles, four sacks and recovering a fumble.

Tigers backup quarterback Tucker Pope entered the transfer portal last week.

Local racer Stan Hardcastle dies at 69

Local stock car driver Stan Hardcastle died on Nov. 25. He was 69.

Hardcastle, a Franklin graduate, started his racing career at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and moved on to the NASCAR Dash Touring Series.

He raced at Daytona, Charlotte, Pocono, Darlington, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro, Birmingham, Montgomery, Highland Rim, and Huntsville speedways.

Hardcastle was involved in a near-fatal crash in the fall of 1986 and recovered in time to run in the Daytona Dash Series at the 1987 Daytona 500 in February.

He also served as a race official at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

Vandy's Ray Davis, MTSU's Chase Cunningham are semifinalists for comeback player of the year

Vanderbilt running back Ray Davis and MTSU quarterback Chase Cunningham were named semifinalists for the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year award.

The national award, presented by the College Sports Communicators in association with the Associated Press and Fiesta Bowl Organization, recognizes college football players from all divisions for overcoming injury, illness, or other circumstances.

Davis, a transfer from Temple, overcame academic issues early in his career and a toe injury last season to help the Commodores post a 5-7 record by rushing for 1,042 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 29 catches for 169 yards and three receiving touchdowns.

Cunningham, after his 2021 season was ended due to a torn ACL, led the Blue Raiders to a 7-5 record and a trip to the Hawai'i Bowl. The Knoxville native passed for 2,920 yards and 19 touchdowns in the regular season, including MTSU's win over Miami (Fla.).

MTSU's Jakobe Thomas from Tullahoma is the Conference USA player of the week

Former Tullahoma standout Jakobe Thomas, now a redshirt freshman at Middle Tennessee State, was the Conference USA defensive player of the week for the final week of the regular season.

Thomas, a safety, had two interceptions and five tackles in the Blue Raiders' 33-28 win over Florida International.

Both of Thomas' interceptions came with less than three minutes left to play and secured the victory.

Thomas, a Class 4A Mr. Football semifinalist as a high school senior, finished the regular season with a team-high four interceptions along with 35 tackles and a forced fumble.

Tennessee Tech women's basketball team ranked 25th

The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team is ranked 25th in the CollegeInsider Mid Major Top 25 poll.

The Golden Eagles, who played in the OVC Tournament championship and the NIT last season, have beaten Ball State, Samford and Trevecca and lost to MTSU, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Belmont fell out of the top 25 but is still receiving votes after losing four of its last five games.

Cumberland cross country coach Jim Seckel retires

Cumberland men's and women's cross country coach Jim Seckel announced his retirement after nine seasons.

Seckel produced 18 NAIA national qualifiers and 40 All-Mid-South Conference runners.

Jason Bowers was an All-American and the Mid-South Conference runner of the year under Seckel and finished 11th at the national championship this past season.

Seckel has been a competitive runner since 1980 and completed more than 35 marathons including 13 consecutive Boston Marathons.

OVC officials coordinator Lisa Mattingly in Women's Basketball Hall of Fame 2023 class

Lisa Mattingly, the Ohio Valley Conference coordinator of women's basketball officials, has been selected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Mattingly has been with the OVC, which is based in Brentwood, since 2018. In addition to the OVC, she leads an officiating consortium of conferences that includes the SEC, Sun Belt, Atlantic Sun, SWAC and Southland. She has officiated in 10 Final Fours. She has also officiated the WNBA championship series from 2000-07 and the WNBA finals from 2002-06. Mattingly was the recipient of the 2002 Naismith Award outstanding official.

Belmont's Ben Sheppard added to Lou Henson Award watch list

Ben Sheppard, the leading scorer on the Belmont basketball team, has been named to the 2022-23 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award Watch List. The award goes annually to the nation's top mid-major player.

Sheppard, a senior from Atlanta, is ranked 25th nationally in scoring (20.3 points per game). He leads Belmont in assists (4.4) and is second in steals (1.6) and rebounds (5.0).

Sheppard went over 1,000 career points in Belmont's victory over George Mason Nov. 19.

Sports on Nashville TV

The five highest-rated sports events locally for the week ending Nov. 27:

1. NFL: Titans-Bengals, 23.6

2. NFL: Bills-Lions, 14.3

3. NFL: Cowboys-Giants, 12.0

4. College football: Michigan-Ohio St., 10.6

5. College football: Alabama-Auburns, 9.9

Source: Mark Binda, WTVF-5 senior programming directorEach rating point is equal to 11,685 TV homes in the Nashville market.

If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOerganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Music City Bowl picture becoming more clear; likely down to six teams