The Fearless Prediction is coming off another solid outing, picking Tennessee to fall to Georgia 34-17 when the actual final score was 41-17 UGA.

The super computer that we have crunching numbers 24 hours a day is finally paying off.

This week Tennessee hosts South Alabama. It’s not exactly the marquee game, but hey, pretty soon we won’t have any college football to watch, so let’s take what we can get.

Tennessee and South Alabama share a comment opponent. The Vols beat Bowling Green 38-6 in the opener, while the Jaguars edged the Falcons 22-19 in Week 2. Those games took place a long time ago, so I’m not sure how much we can take away.

South Alabama has been led at quarterback by Jake Bentley and if that name sounds familiar to Tennessee fans, it should, and not with warm fuzzy memories. Back in 2016, Bentley graduated high school early and was the starting quarterback at South Carolina. On a chilly October evening in Columbia, he and the Gamecocks stunned the Vols 24-21. That loss knocked the Vols out of the race for the SEC East, and was the beginning of the end of the Butch Jones era.

Bentley spent 4 years at South Carolina, the 2020 season at Utah, and is finishing his college career with the Jaguars. (Kids, the real world is tough. Stay in school as long as you can.)

He was knocked out of the Troy game with a knee injury on Nov. 6 and didn’t play in last week’s 31-7 loss at Appalachian State. He returned to practice Monday, but was limited. If he can’t go against the Vols, Desmond Trotter will get the start. He was shaky against the Mountaineers, completing 55% of his passes and throwing 2 INTs.

Whether it is Bentley or Trotter at quarterback, South Alabama will try to get the football to receiver Jalen Tolbert. He’s put up big numbers this season with 65 catches for 1,140 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Terrion Avery leads the team in rushing with 498 yards.

On defense, the Jaguars have 5 players with at least 42 tackles, led by inside linebacker AJ DeShazor Jr. with 46 in 7 games. Defensive lineman Wy’Kevious Thomas has 42 tackles, including 5 for a loss and 2 sacks.

South Alabama might be 5-5, but with the exception of last week’s defeat to Appalachian State, they’ve been competitive in every game. They nearly upset nationally ranked Louisiana back in October.

That all said, Tennessee’s 5-5 record looks a lot better due to their schedule. Four of their opponents are in the top 20 with 2 others that were nationally ranked at the time when they played.

The Vols are licking their wounds after a 41-17 loss to Georgia. Their total offense ranking fell to 21st, 1 spot below Appalachian State. Tennessee is still a force to be reckoned with on that side of the football, and quarterback Hendon Hooker should be in prime position for a bounce-back outing.

Wide receiver Cedric Tillman looks to build on a career-best 10 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown, which he pulled off against the best defense in the nation.

On defense, linebacker Jeremy Banks continues to pad the stats in his tremendous 2021 season, with a team-leading 89 tackles.

With 2 games to go, Tennessee needs only 1 more win to become bowl eligible. Getting to the postseason would be quite the accomplishment for Josh Heupel in his first year.

This is a similar situation to what the Vols faced back in Jeremy Pruitt’s first season. In 2018, they needed to beat Missouri or Vanderbilt to earn a bowl berth. They were blown out in both games.

That not going to happen this time.

The Vols are motivated and will finish the regular season with a flourish, starting on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.

Fearless Prediction time …

Tennessee 45, South Alabama 14