There’ll be blowout defeats and multi-week losing streaks.

There’ll be talk of unfulfilled promises and coaching change rumblings.

And, to top it off, the stretch of misery caused by a particular SEC East foe will reach a decade long.

But despite the adversity Butch Jones will endure in his second year as Tennessee head coach, the Volunteers will ultimately sneak into a bowl game for the first time since 2010.

Here’s how:

Through the first four weeks of the season, UT will sit at 2-2 barring anything unforeseen.

The State’s of Utah and Arkansas should deliver comfortable wins, while treacherous treks to Oklahoma and Georgia will provide a glimpse of what the Vols hope to be in the near future.

Then ‘The Chomp’ comes to town, and before the clamoring begins as to why UT will finally rack up its first win over the Gators since 2004, one thing needs to be clear.

I’m not biting.

As of late, The UT-Florida rivalry has been a Murphy’s law-esque matchup for the Vols. Everything has gone wrong for those in orange.

And I mean everything.

Chattanooga will help ease the pain the next week, but three consecutive losses will immediately follow, leaving Jones’ squad at a concerning 3-6 heading into the final quarter of the season.

But then comes the riveting November finish.

Kentucky is all but a lock. Missouri is the true toss-up game, but the Vols will steal one late in Neyland — just as the Tigers did in quadruple overtime two seasons ago.

And while Vanderbilt has definitely established itself at the big boy table of the SEC, I can’t see the Commodores pulling off three straight wins against their in-state foe — mainly because it hasn’t happened since Calvin Coolidge roamed the White House. 

So if you cheer for the Vols in 2014, be warned. It’ll get dicey, and it’ll be a bumpy ride.

But a late-December, early-January bowl game will be the final destination.

Dargan Southard is a senior in journalism and electronic media. He can be reached at [email protected].