Bray led the Vols to a 4–0 record in November, making them bowl eligible at 6–6. Tennessee was selected to play in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee where Bray completed 27-of-45 passes for 312 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions in a 27–30 2OT loss against the North Carolina Tar Heels. He finished the season 125-of-224 for 1,849 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, all Tennessee freshman records while also throwing 10 interceptions. Among freshman Division I quarterbacks in 2010, he ranked third in quarterback rating (142.73), tied for fourth in touchdowns, sixth in passing yards per game (205.4), and 10th in total yards. In his sophomore year, Bray began the 2011 season as the starter for the Volunteers. In the season opener at home, Bray completed 17–of-24 passes while throwing for 293 yards and three touchdowns against Montana in a 42–16 victory. The next week against Cincinnati and their head coach Butch Jones, who would end up coaching the Tennessee Volunteers starting in the 2013 season, Bray completed 34-of-41 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns as the Vols won by a score 45–23 at home. In the victory over the Bearcats, Bray broke former Tennessee All-American quarterback Peyton Manning's record by throwing at least two touchdown passes in eight consecutive games. In the Cincinnati game, Bray had the second highest completion percentage ever recorded in a game by a Tennessee quarterback of 82.9%, second to Tee Martin's 95.8% against South Carolina in 1998. For the third game of the season, Bray and the Volunteers faced off against the Florida Gators, a rival Tennessee had not beaten since 2004. On Tennessee's opening drive, sophomore wide receiver Justin Hunter went down with a torn ACL. The attitude of the team was noticeably different due to the absence of Hunter and the Vols ended up losing to Florida by a score of 33–23 in The Swamp. Bray finished the day 26-of-48 for 288 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. The Vols' next game was a 41–10 victory over Buffalo as Bray threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns. After the victory over the Bulls, the next week would bring a setback for Bray. Against the Georgia Bulldogs at home, Bray broke his thumb late in the game and would be sidelined for several weeks. The Vols lost to the Bulldogs by a score of 20–12 as Bray threw for 251 yards, with Matt Simms reliving Bray late in the game.