Dan Mullen predicts Tennessee fans will 'go ballistic' after third College Football Playoff rankings reveal

The third College Football Playoff rankings are set to be revealed Tuesday night. ESPN college football analyst Dan Mullen doesn’t believe that they are going to be kind to the Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee was ranked No. 7 when last week’s rankings were released and Mullen expects the Vols to have a sizeable drop after losing 31-17 to Georgia this past weekend.

“I think Tennessee is the team that’s gonna be – their fanbase, you know, on ole Rocky Top, is going to go ballistic,” Dan Mullen said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show.

“I think they’re going to be the big drop team that’s out [from] the SEC now. That would be my guess. I think they’re the ones that are out.”

The loss was the second one of the season for the Vols, who also dropped a game at Arkansas on Oct. 5. Tennessee does have some good wins, including against Alabama. Mullen expects Vols fans to point to that game to show that UT should still be in the top 12. However, he doesn’t believe the committee will keep Tennessee in the playoff at this point.

“Tennessee’s going to say, ‘Hey, we beat Alabama. I know we lost to Georgia but we beat Alabama. So shouldn’t we be ahead of them?’” Mullen said.

Alabama was ranked No. 10 last week and handled Mercer 52-7 on Saturday. Now Mullen expects the Crimson Tide to be ahead of Tennessee.

Josh Heupel: SEC strength of schedule should matter in CFP selections

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel made his case for the Vols and the rest of the SEC following the loss to Georgia this past weekend. Heupel was asked where he believes Tennessee stands in the College Football Playoff picture.

“I have no idea, man,” Heupel said. “All I know is this league is college football as good as it gets. Like, it is. Teams get beat on the road sometimes. It’s hard to win, man, in this league.

“It’s a good football team that we just played. Lost a couple of close ones on the road against good football teams. Had turnovers in that game. It’s a good football team. We’re a good football team, too.”

Tennessee certainly hasn’t had it easy this season. According to the Kelley Ford Ratings, Tennessee has the 27th-most difficult schedule in the country. Of course, this tough schedule has not only provided Tennessee with painful losses but also résumé-building wins.

For example, Tennessee’s 24-17 win over Alabama will play a key role in the College Football Playoff selection committee’s eyes, as the Crimson Tide are expected to make the playoffs.

Additionally, Tennessee boasts wins over teams such as NC State, Oklahoma and Florida — two of which were ranked at the time the Volunteers defeated them.