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Josh Heupel on playoff talk: 'You make your case by going and controlling what you control'

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•10/31/24•

GrantRamey

Josh Heupel Arkansas
Matt Ray--Volquest.com

Josh Heupel isn’t about to get caught looking toward the finish line. He’s not going to let his Tennessee Football team get tripped up while thinking about the College Football Playoff and all the talk around the 12 teams that will make the field, either.

“You make your case by going and controlling what you control,” Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday, “which is your performance on Saturday. Your preparation takes you there.”

This Saturday its No. 7 Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) hosting Kentucky (3-5, 1-5) in a 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff (TV: SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium.  

Tennessee is a playoff bubble team after wins over Florida, Alabama

The Vols are widely considered a playoff bubble team after beating Florida 23-17 in overtime and beating Alabama 24-17 two weeks ago, bouncing back from the 19-14 loss at Arkansas on October 5. 

“We’re halfway through the conference schedule,” Heupel said. “There’s a ton of football (left). If you’re worried about the end result, you’re going to make the mistakes you can’t afford on the way to the end.”

ESPN’s Heather Dinich this week had Tennessee as the 12th and final team in her updated College Football Playoff bracket projection, with the Vols going to No. 5 Penn State in the first round. 

“The loss at Arkansas isn’t horrible,” Dinich wrote, “but if the Vols don’t win at Georgia on Nov. 16, they will be banking heavily on their win against Alabama to sway the committee. Wins against NC State and Oklahoma aren’t what they once appeared to be.”

Both NC State and Oklahoma have 4-4 records through eight games. Tennessee beat NC State 51-10 in Charlotte on Sept. 7 and won 25-15 at Oklahoma on Sept. 21. 

Heupel: ‘Our best football is still out in front of us. We got to go chase that’.

After hosting Kentucky, the Vols stay home against Mississippi State next week, before the showdown at Georgia. The regular-season schedule closes with a home game against UTEP on Nov. 23 and the road game at Vanderbilt on Nov. 30. 

If Tennessee is going to hear its named called on Selection Sunday, Heupel knows it will be a result of a week-by-week process. 

“For us, being present, being in the now, preparing in a great way, continuing to grow as a football team.” Heupel said. “You guys hear me say it, players here me say it: Good teams continue to get better. Our best football is still out in front of us. We got to go chase that.” 

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