Tennessee concludes nonconference play vs. South Alabama Saturday
Tennessee football has its final nonconference game Saturday.
The Vols (5-5) play South Alabama (5-5) on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU) at Neyland Stadium.
Here is what to know about the matchup:
Bowl berth in sight
Tennessee is a win away from securing a bowl berth in Josh Heupel’s first season. The Vols gained their fifth win by beating Kentucky 45-42 on Nov. 6.
UT has to win against either South Alabama on Saturday or Vanderbilt on Nov. 27 to reach the six-win requirement.
Tennessee has only played in one bowl game in the past four seasons. UT beat Indiana 23-22 in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2, 2020. The Vols accepted a bid to play in the Liberty Bowl after the 2020 season, but dropped out due to COVID-19 issues within the program.
Cedric Tillman is having an ALL-SEC season
Cedric Tillman had eight catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns in 25 games in his first three seasons at Tennessee.
The junior wide receiver had 10 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown Saturday against Georgia, the finest showing in his breakout season. Tillman has 46 catches for 725 yards and six touchdowns.
Tillman has caught touchdowns in four straight games and in five of the past six.
South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert is having an All-american season
South Alabama junior wide receiver Jalen Tolbert is one of six receivers in the nation with more than 1,100 yards receiving. Only one player has reached that mark with fewer receptions.
Tolbert is third nationally with 1,140 yards on 65 catches. He also has six touchdowns.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Tolbert has broken the 1,000-yard mark in two straight seasons.
Will Tennessee see Jake Bentley again?
Jake Bentley went 3-0 against Tennessee as the starting quarterback at South Carolina. He led the Gamecocks over a ranked UT team in 2016 when he should have been a high school senior, then quarterbacked USC over UT in 2017 and 2018.
Bentley was injured in 2019 before transferring to Utah for a season. He transferred to South Alabama during the offseason and was having a nice season prior to suffering a knee injury against Troy on Nov. 6. The sixth-year senior did not play against Appalachian State on Nov. 13.
Bentley had completed 70.2% of his passes for 2,122 yards and 15 touchdowns in nine games prior to his injury. Sophomore Desmond Trotter started against Appalachian State.
Taking it back to 2013
Tennessee and South Alabama have met once before. The Vols edged the Jaguars 31-24 at Neyland Stadium on Sept. 28, 2013.
Former Vols coach Butch Jones was in his first season for that meeting, which moved UT to 3-2 during a 5-7 season.
Prediction
Tennessee 52, South Alabama 17: The last time Tennessee’s offense was held to fewer than 20 points, it responded with 62 the following week. The Vols will score in bunches against South Alabama similarly to how they did against Missouri to rebound and lock up a bowl bid.