Pat Forde predicts winner of Tennessee vs Iowa in the Citrus Bowl

Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde hasn't made many fans in the Volunteer state over the years thanks to some of his takes on the Tennessee Vols, but UT fans will like his prediction for the Citrus Bowl. 

Tennessee is set to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day and Forde is picking the Vols to walk away with a 17-7 win. 

From SI.com: Tennessee 17, Iowa 7. Give the Hawkeyes a defensive touchdown to keep it relatively competitive, then send Brian Ferentz into unemployment. For the Volunteers, this will be an exercise in offensive patience and consistent execution against a defense that doesn’t give up big plays.

Iowa doesn't score a lot of points (No. 130 scoring offense in the nation in 2023), but they don't give up a lot of points, either (No. 4 scoring defense in the nation in 2023). 

Tennessee will probably only need to find the end zone once or twice in this game to score enough to win. But finding the end zone against Iowa's suffocating defense won't be easy. Forde is right that Tennessee will need to show some patience in this matchup. Trying to force something that isn't there and giving the Hawkeyes some free points on defense is the one scenario where the Vols could lose this matchup.