Tennessee ended its 11-win season in Florida last December, thumping Clemson 31-14 in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens.

On the eve of the Vols’ 2023 campaign, the consensus among Bowl projections is that they’ll return to the Sunshine State to ring in the new year.

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Both CBS Sports and College Football News—which releases projections this week— have Tennessee slated to play Wisconsin in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Jan. 1, 2024.

If that projection holds true, it would mark the Vols’ first appearance in the Citrus Bowl since 2002 and their first meeting with Wisconsin since the 2008 Outback Bowl in Tampa.

Wisconsin, which finished 7-6 last season, is preparing for its first season under head coach in Luke Fickell.

Tennessee opens its 2023 season on Sept. 2 at noon ET (ABC) against Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Tennessee exceeded expectations under Josh Heupel in his first season in 2021.

The Vols won seven games and reached the Music City Bowl a year after going 3-7.

With starting quarterback Hendon Hooker and a number of offensive weapons back, Tennessee was expected to reach the postseason again in 2022.

WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee holds its first scrimmage of fall camp ft. Joe Milton

In the preseason, College Football News projected the Vols to play West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl while Athlon Sports projected a Citrus Bowl matchup against Wisconsin.

Instead, Tennessee led college football in nearly every offensive statistical category, beat Florida, LSU and Alabama on its way to its first New Years Six Bowl appearance in the College Football Playoff era.

Tennessee debuted at No. 10 in the USA TODAY/AFCA Coaches Poll on Monday.

Despite losing Hooker and standout receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, the Vols return a number of key pieces on offense.

Joe Milton III takes over at quarterback after appearing in 10 games last season, including two starts and the receiving corps returns Bru McCoy, Ramel Keyton and Squirrel White.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Key takeaways from Tennessee football's first scrimmage of fall camp

"(Milton) is a completely different guy, not just player," offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said. "His attention to detail is elite. He came back after that Clemson game and was hungry to keep learning and keep pushing forward. He didn't rest on his lulls and say he had it figured out. He pushed and saw the success that he had and he knew what he could do. Now his mentality is matching that on how he's consuming the game at all times. It's fun to be a part of right now and it's a special mindset this kid has."

Tennessee improved defensively last season but is still looking for more consistency in the secondary.

The Vols return nearly everyone at defensive back and leading tackler Aaron Beasley anchors the linebacking corps.

"As I told the kids, experience is only good when you can go back and learn from it, whether it's good or bad," defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. "If we learn from it and build upon it then it's something that can become special. We can't carry over any tackles. We can't carry over any interceptions. We have to earn them again during camp and that's honestly the goal."

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