ESPN makes bowl game prediction for Tennessee that doesn't involve a trip to the College Football Playoff

ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach revealed their updated college football bowl game predictions on Sunday and neither of them have the Tennessee Vols reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff. 

Instead, Bonagura and Schlabach both have the Vols playing in a bowl game that will feel like a major letdown for Tennessee fans. 

Bonagura has Tennessee facing Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on December 31. 

Schlabach, meanwhile, has the Vols facing Syracuse in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on January 2. 

It's still a bit early for bowl game predictions because we have no idea how the final two weeks of the season will play out (or how the playoff committee will decide to rank the teams after the conference championship games in early December). 

But I feel pretty confident in saying that Bonagura's prediction will absolutely not come true. 

It seems incredibly unlikely that the Citrus Bowl will be on board with a repeat of last year's Citrus Bowl matchup between Tennessee and Iowa. They might be ok with one team making a return trip to Orlando -- and I know their options will be limited due to the playoff games -- but I can't see a scenario where they run it back with the Vols and the Hawkeyes. That feels like a lazy prediction from Bonagura. 

The good news for the Vols is that even if they're on the outside of the College Football Playoff this week when the new rankings are revealed, they'll still have a shot to be in the top 12 depending on how the final two weeks of the regular season plays out.