ESPN: Tennessee has 76% chance to make College Football Playoff, 93% with win at Vandy
Tennessee has a 76% chance to make the College Football Playoff, according to ESPN’s Playoff Predictor. The Vols are one of nine teams with greater than a 75% chance to make the 12-team field, with the three other spots seemingly wide open.
The Vols (9-2, 5-2 SEC) need a win at Vanderbilt (6-5, 3-4) on Saturday (Noon Eastern Time, ABC) to claim their spot in the playoff, after getting some help with Ole Miss and Alabama losses.
A win over Vanderbilt would give Tennessee a 93% chance to make the playoff, according to ESPN, with a 21% chance to host in the first round and a 72% chance to go on the road.
ESPN: With win at Vandy, ‘Vols should be in the committee’s top 12 on Selection Day’
The Playoff Predictor gives both Oregon and Ohio State a greater than 99% chance to make the playoff, ahead of Penn State at 99%, Texas at 98%, Indiana at 98%, Georgia at 91%, Notre Dame at 90% and Miami at 80%.
Behind Tennessee is Boise State at 68%, SMU at 63% and Alabama at 37%.
ESPN on Saturday night had the Vols ranked No. 8 in updated playoff rankings and seeded ninth in the bracket.
“As long as Tennessee doesn’t lose at Vanderbilt on Saturday — and that’s hardly a guarantee — the Vols should be in the committee’s top 12 on Selection Day,” ESPN’s Heather Dinich wrote, “now that Ole Miss played itself out.”
The College Football Playoff selection committee will release its new rankings and bracket projection Tuesday night. The official bracket will be announced on December 8.
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ESPN projects Tennessee to be ranked eighth, seeded ninth in playoff
ESPN’s projected playoff teams after Saturday’s chaos was No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Miami and No. 4 Boise State, all receiving byes into the quarterfinals, ahead of No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 Georgia, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 10 SMU, No. 11 Indiana and No. 12 Arizona State.
ESPN dropped Indiana to No. 11 in its rankings. Just outside the top 12 was No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 15 Texas A&M and No. 16 Clemson. BYU dropped to No. 18 after its loss at Arizona State and Colorado dropped to No. 20 after its loss at Kansas.
Indiana lost 38-15 at Ohio State, Ole Miss lost 24-17 at Florida and Alabama lost 24-3 at Oklahoma. Texas A&M also lost at Auburn for its second SEC loss.
“The Vols got some help on Saturday,” Dinich wrote. “With Ole Miss and Indiana both losing, Tennessee should move up by default — not because it hammered UTEP 56-0.
“The head-to-head loss to Georgia will keep them behind the Bulldogs.”
