UT going bowling, but where?

They're in. Tennessee will play in a bowl game.

The who, what, where and when will have to wait on some unfinished business.

"It's a big benefit,'' UT coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday of the Vols becoming bowl eligible after a 31-16 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday night.

"Obviously, you don't want to be out there (recruiting) not being able to sell, 'Hey, we're in a bowl game.' ''

But which one?

The Vols (6-5, 3-4 SEC) won't know until after they play Kentucky (7-4, 3-4) at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. (TV: ESPNU).

The options range from a best-case-scenario Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., to any of several of the SEC's lower-tier bowl connections.

If UT beats Kentucky for a 26th consecutive year to finish 7-5, a third Outback trip in four years is a real possibility.

If not the Outback, the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta would be the likely destination.

The Vols would arguably be the most appealing of several potential 7-5 SEC teams - a group that could potentially include Kentucky, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina.

The Monte Kiffin connection won't hurt in Tampa. UT's defensive coordinator was a long-time coordinator for the Tampa Bay Bucs before joining his son in Knoxville this year.

If Alabama and Florida win rivalry games Saturday with Auburn and Florida State, respectively, both will receive BCS bowl bids. One will play in the national championship game, the other the Sugar Bowl.

Ole Miss, with a win over Mississippi State on Saturday, would be the frontrunner for the Capital One Bowl, which gets first pick of SEC teams after the BCS is set.

The Cotton, Outback and Chick-fil-A bowls pick among the SEC's third, fourth and fifth teams.

The Cotton Bowl probably takes the winner of LSU-Arkansas.

If the Vols lose at Kentucky and finish 6-6, they drop down the pecking order.

The Liberty and Music City bowls determine the sixth and seventh picks.

The Independence Bowl in Shreveport gets the eighth pick and the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham the ninth.

Kiffin said he would love to see Tennessee bowling in an area it recruits heavily. That could be construed as either Tampa or Atlanta.

But bowling anywhere is preferable to sitting home.

"It's big,'' Kiffin said, "because Tennessee continues to get talked about because you're going to a bowl game and you get talked about on all the pregame shows.''

Here are the possibilities:

Outback: Played on Jan. 1 at 11 a.m. against the Big Ten. Wisconsin is a likely opponent. Tennessee played there after the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Chick-fil-A: The former Peach is on Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. in the Georgia Dome. The Atlantic Coast Conference provides the opponent. The Vols played there after the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

Liberty: In Memphis on Jan. 2 at 5:30 p.m. against the Conference-USA champion. The Vols haven't participated since 1986.

Music City: LP Field in Nashville, Dec. 27 at 8:15 p.m., against an ACC opponent. This is one bowl UT has never visited.

Independence: Shreveport would be another new bowl destination for UT. Kickoff is Dec. 28 at 5 p.m. against a Big 12 opponent.

PapaJohns.com: Legion Field in Birmingham gets the last SEC option. Kickoff is Dec. 29 at 3 p.m. against a Big East foe.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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