ESPN has Tennessee as 12th and final team in College Football Playoff projection
Tennessee is the 12th and final team in the College Football Playoff field this week, according to ESPN’s latest bracket projection. The Vols were the No. 12 seed and the last of four SEC teams to make the bracket.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich has Tennessee as the No. 12 seed, going on the road in the first round at No. 5 Penn State.
“This shows how Penn State could be the committee’s No. 3 team overall,” Dinich wrote, “but not be seeded higher than fifth because the first four seeds are reserved for conference champions.
“They’d earn a first-round home game, though, against the fourth and final SEC team in the bracket.”
Up Next: No. 7 Tennessee vs. Kentucky
The top four seeds were Oregon, Georgia, Miami and BYU. The other first-round matchups were No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 11 Clemson at No. 6 Ohio State and No. 10 Boise State at No. 7 Texas.
Clemson and Tennessee were the last two teams in the field. The first four out were Notre Dame, Iowa State, Kansas State and Alabama. The next four out were Ole Miss, LSU, Pitt and SMU.
No. 7 Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) hosts Kentucky (3-5, 1-5) Saturday night (7:45 Eastern Time, SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium.
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The Vols are back home next week against Mississippi State, then go to No. 2 Georgia on November 16, host UTEP on November 23 and finish the regular-season schedule at Vanderbilt on November 30.
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives Tennessee a 91.0% chance to beat Kentucky, a 94.7% chance to beat, a 40.2% chance to win at Georgia and an 81.3% chance to win at Vanderbilt.
Vols at 10-2 would ‘be banking heavily on their win against Alabama’
Tennessee’s 51-10 win against North Carolina State in Charlotte on September 7 and the 25-15 win at Oklahoma on September 21 have been diminished by the Wolfpack and Sooners both currently having 4-4 records.
The Vols control their own destiny over the final five games, but would leave the decision up to the College Football Playoff committee with a 10-2 record. The first College Football Playoff rankings come out next Tuesday night.
Tennessee bounced back from the 19-14 loss at Arkansas on October 5 with home wins over Florida, 23-17 in overtime, and Alabama, 24-17 before last week’s open date.
“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.”
