3 things to know about the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Need a brief primer before you attempt to watch all 40 bowl games this season? We’ve got you covered. Here are three things you need to know about the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl.
FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE MUSIC CITY BOWL
Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-3) vs. No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers (8-4)
Dec. 30, 3:30 p.m. ET
ESPN
– Nebraska doesn’t have a great rushing offense — averaging just 178.2 yards per game — but the Tennessee rushing defense is pretty terrible and any team with a pulse could exploit it. The Vols are allowing 231.7 yards per game, which ranks 111th nationally. The Vols allowed 400-yard rushing efforts to Kentucky and Missouri in two of their final three games of the regular season and four teams rushed for 350 or more yards this year.
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– Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong has had an up-and-down season partly because of injuries. Armstrong has been nursing a hamstring injury for more than a month and didn’t participate in the start of bowl practices. Earlier this week, coach Mike Riley called him “that emergency guy,” which seems to suggest that Ryker Fyfe could be in line to get the start. Huskers’ fans should hope that doesn’t happen. Armstrong has thrown for 2,180 yards 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. He’s also rushed for 512 yards and eight scores. Unfortunately, he’ll be without his best weapon, receiver Jordan Westerkamp, whose career ended with a knee injury.
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– This season has been a disappointing one for Tennessee, which came in with SEC title hopes and a possible trip to the playoff. However, the Vols fell far short of that achievement and it’s made some in Knoxville a little grumpy. This game could determine the 2017 fate of Tennessee coach Butch Jones. If the Vols win, they’ll finish a respectable, but still underachieving, 9-4 and have a little momentum heading into 2017. If they lose, Jones will undoubtedly be in the hot seat and he’ll need an SEC title game appearance to appease his fan base and keep his job.
Mascot fight prediction: This is the first of my previews where the mascots are both people, so this is very interesting. A cornhusker is a big burly dude, who works on a farm, and he’s going against a guy with a musket. That’s right, right? Anyway, can’t bring a scythe to the War of 1812. Advantage Tennessee.
Real predictions:
Graham Watson: Nebraska 24, Tennessee 21
Nick Bromberg: Nebraska 30, Tennessee 13
Sam Cooper: Tennessee 30, Nebraska 28
Chris Herbert: Nebraska 34, Tennessee 28
More college football from Yahoo Sports:
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!
