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Who will play in Music City Bowl? Why Auburn, Texas A&M are more likely than Tennessee

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Who will play in Music City Bowl? Why Auburn, Texas A&M are more likely than Tennessee


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Auburn and Texas A&M are the SEC teams with the best chances to end up in the 2023 TransPerfect Music City Bowl while Wisconsin and Rutgers have emerged as the favorites from the Big Ten, according to a survey of some of the nation’s top college football prognosticators.

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Only two predictions have Tennessee headed for Nashville for the Dec. 30 game at Nissan Stadium (1 p.m., ABC). Five say Auburn will be the SEC representative, three say Texas A&M, two say Kentucky and one says South Carolina.

Wisconsin is the favorite to be the Big Ten representative with seven predictions, followed by Rutgers (3), Northwestern (2) and Nebraska (2).

Iowa defeated Kentucky 21-0 in the 2022 Music City Bowl. Current Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis opted out of that game.

Here are some of the predictions heading into Week 13:

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⋅ ESPN (Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach): Auburn vs. Northwestern (Bonagura); Auburn vs. Wisconsin (Schlabach)

∙ Sports Illustrated (Brett Gibbons): Auburn vs. Nebraska

∙ CBS Sports (Jerry Palm): Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin

∙ Sporting News (Bill Bender): Tennessee vs. Rutgers

∙ College Football News: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin

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∙ Fox Sports: Auburn vs. Wisconsin

∙ 247 Sports: (Brad Crawford): Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin

∙ Action Network (Brett McMurphy): Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin

∙ College Football Network: Kentucky vs. Rutgers

∙ Saturday Down South: Auburn vs. Rutgers

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∙ Hatch Rankings: South Carolina vs. Northwestern

∙ College Sports Madness: Kentucky vs. Northwestern

TSU’s Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. reaches 1,000 career points

Former Pearl-Cohn basketball standout Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., now a junior at Tennessee State, reached 1,000 career points in a game at Oregon last Friday.

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Fitzgerald, a guard, scored 11 points and has 1,006 for his career.

He became the 29th player in TSU history to score 1,000 points. Fitzgerald is averaging 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game this season.

Coaches with local ties named Eddie Robinson Award finalists

Two college football coaches with local ties − Austin Peay’s Scotty Walden and Gardner-Webb’s Tre Lamb, who played at Tennessee Tech − are among 20 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, which goes to the nation’s top FCS coach.

Walden led the Governors to nine straight wins, the United Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the national playoffs.

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Lamb was a three-year starting quarterback at Tech and the Golden Eagles’ offensive coordinator (2018-19). In his fourth season at Gardner-Webb Lamb led the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a share of the Big South/OVC title and an automatic playoff bid.

Nashville Kats 2024 schedule released

The Nashville Kats, who will return to action after a 16-year hiatus when the new Arena Football League launches in 2024, released their schedule this week.

The Kats will play their home games at Municipal Auditorium.

They open the season April 27 at home against the Minnesota Myth followed by May 1 at Albany (Firebirds), May 9 against Philadelphia (Soul), May 16 against Georgia (Force), May 23 at Georgia, May 30 against Albany, June 6 at Minnesota, June 13 against Philadelphia, June 20 at Billings (Montana, Outlaws) and against Southwest Kansas (Storm) June 27.

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

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Tennessee

Former Titans Coach Named Top Candidate for Jets

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Former Titans Coach Named Top Candidate for Jets


Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel remains a hot name, and he may have another head-coaching job as soon as next season.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated recently named a bunch of potential candidates for the New York Jets job in 2025, and Vrabel was at the top of his list.

“Mike Vrabel makes the most sense to me, mostly because he won’t stand down to an owner, and that’s exactly what the New York Jets need,” Breer wrote.

The problem with that is Jets owner Woody Johnson is known to be a meddler, so he a Vrabel-Johnson partnership may never actually come to fruition.

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Still, Vrabel could end up being a perfect fit for the Jets from a stylistic perspective given that New York is built upon a strong defense.

It’s not the first time that Vrabel has been linked to Gang Green, either.

Vrabel actually did a very solid job during his time with the Titans, going 54-45 while making three playoff appearances—including a pair of AFC South titles—across five seasons.

Things went south over Vrabel’s final two years in Tennessee, with the Titans going just 13-21 during that span. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the problem was not with Vrabel.

Vrabel is currently serving as an assistant for the Cleveland Browns, but it seems like only a matter of time before he lands a better job elsewhere.

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The 49-year-old also had a 14-year NFL playing career from 1997 through 2010, spending time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and also made a Pro Bowl with the squad in 2007.

The Jets have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams this season, as they are just 3-8 in spite of having one of the most star-studded rosters in the sport.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!



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Tennessee man convicted for Jan. 6 riot found guilty of plotting to kill FBI agents who investigated him

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Tennessee man convicted for Jan. 6 riot found guilty of plotting to kill FBI agents who investigated him


A Jan. 6 rioter who breached the U.S. Capitol was convicted of trying to have law enforcement personnel, including the FBI agents and employees who were investigating him, murdered, the Justice Department said Wednesday. 

Edward Kelley, 35, of Maryville, Tennessee, who was convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers and other crimes during the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, was found guilty on Wednesday of conspiracy to murder employees of the United States, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and influencing or retaliating against federal officials by threat.

The jury agreed on a verdict after an hour of deliberation following the three-day trial, WBIR-TV reported.

NIKKI HALEY PENS SUPPORTIVE OP-ED IN FAVOR OF TRUMP AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY: ‘EASY CALL’ 

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Jan. 6 rioter Edward Kelley seen at the U.S. Capitol. Kelley was convicted this week of plotting to kill the FBI agents who investigated him.  (Justice Department)

Federal prosecutors at his trial in Knoxville, Tennessee, said Kelly developed a “kill list” of FBI agents and others who participated in the investigation into his conduct on Jan. 6 while awaiting trial for his involvement in the Capitol riot. 

He distributed the list, as well as videos containing images of FBI employees identified on the list, to a co-conspirator as part of his “mission,” authorities said.

SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT PARTICIPANT WHO CHALLENGED OBSTRUCTION CONVICTION

Capitol riot

A scene from the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in 2021. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Kelley’s co-defendant Austin Carter, who pleaded guilty in November 2023 to conspiracy to kill FBI agents and is awaiting sentencing, testified that Kelly said he needed to “take out” the FBI. He said that he and Kelley planned attacks on the Knoxville FBI Field Office using car bombs and incendiary devices appended to drones. 

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He also testified that the conspirators strategized about assassinating FBI employees in their homes and in public places such as movie theaters.

Edward Kelley inside the Capitol

Edward Kelley inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.  (Justice Department)

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Recording introduced by prosecutors showed Kelley directing the plan, and giving instructions to “start it,” “attack,” and “take out their office” in the event of his arrest. He was also recorded stating: “Every hit has to hurt. Every hit has to hurt,” authorities said. 

Kelley is scheduled to be sentenced on May 7, 2025. He faces up to life in prison. 



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How Tennessee Makes The College Football Playoff

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How Tennessee Makes The College Football Playoff


The Tennessee Volunteers are currently ranked 11th on the latest College Football Playoff rankings. However, because of automatic bids, if the College Football Playoff rankings were finalized today, Tennessee is the first team out, overlooked by the Big 12 champ and Boise State. Now, good news for the (10-2) Tennessee Volunteers, there’s still a way for them to make the CFP. Though, there are going to need some help.

Note: ESPN’s CFP Prediction Machine gives Tennessee an 88% chance to make the CFP if they simply win out.

Any regular season loss by a (2) loss SEC Team
Alabama, Ole Miss, and Georgia all share a two-loss record at this point in the season, and though Tennessee has a head-to-head win over Alabama, their pair of losses (Arkansas and Georgia) is deemed worse by the committee at this point in the rankings. Any loss by any of those three team would likely free Tennessee up for a entrance to the playoff.

Indiana Is Destroyed by Ohio State
Indiana is a threat to Tennessee at this point, and would be even at an (11-1) record with a presumed loss this weekend to Ohio State. However, if Indiana is blown out in the contest, they will more than likely drop behind Tennessee who has just UTEP and Vanderbilt left on the schedule. Indiana has one top-25 opponent all season, this weekend at Ohio State, if they are walked off the field, it will open Tennessee’s door.

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Notre Dame Loses to Army or USC
It’s a long shot, Notre Dame is a heavy favorite in both football games… as they were against Northern Illinois — the 8th ranked team in the MAC. If Notre Dame were to drop another football game over the next two weeks, there’s a likelihood that Tennessee gets in the playoff.

Texas A&M Loses to Texas
If Texas A&M wins out, and has a top-3 win over the Texas Longhorns to end the regular season and goes onto the SEC Championship game, the committee has shown they have tremendous amounts of recency bias. A win-out situation for Texas A&M is something that the Vols should hope to avoid.

Make sure to follow our website Tennessee on SI.



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