College Football Playoff projections for Tennessee after the win at Oklahoma, 4-0 start
Tennessee Football’s 25-15 win at Oklahoma and the 4-0 start to the season has the Vols not only projected as a College Football Playoff team, but one that can win playoff games, too.
Projections after Week 4 from ESPN, USA Today, The Action Network, College Football News and Athlon Sports all had the Vols hosting playoff games in the first round and advancing to the quarterfinals.
Penn State, Clemson and Missouri were projected as first-round opponents in the updated brackets while Ohio State, Georgia and Miami were quarterfinal opponents in the Sugar, Peach and Rose Bowls.
On3’s Andy Staples projects Tennessee as a No. 7 seed, hosting No. 10 Penn State. ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy also had a Tennessee-Penn State first-round matchup.
“I probably should move the Volunteers up after their win at Oklahoma,” Staples wrote, “but there’s not much real estate above them. I’m still not sure they’d beat Alabama or Georgia, but fortunately they play both so we’ll find out.
“The fact is Tennessee keeps looking like a playoff team. We’ll know in the coming weeks whether the Vols also look like a potential SEC champ.”
Up Next: No. 5 Tennessee at Arkansas, Saturday, October 5
Tennessee, which moved up to No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 6 in the Coaches Poll on Monday, is off this week. The Vols go to Arkansas next week, before hosting four home games over five weeks against Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi State.
Bonagura’s ESPN projection had Tennessee advancing to face Ohio State, the No. 2 seed, in the Rose Bowl. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach has Tennessee as a No. 6 seed against Clemson in the first round and advancing to face No. 3 Miami in the Peach Bowl.
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USA Today also had Clemson at Tennessee in the first round, with the Vols advancing to face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
The Action Network had Tennessee against Penn State in the first round and the Vols then going to the Rose Bowl to face Ohio State.
CBS Sports has Tennessee in Gator Bowl against Louisville
Athlon has Tennessee hosting Missouri in the first round — the Vols don’t face Mizzou during the regular-season SEC schedule — and moving on to face Miami in the Peach Bowl.
College Football News has Tennessee going to Miami in the first round, but advancing to the Sugar Bowl to face Georgia.
The lone projection that did not have Tennessee in the 12-team College Football Playoff field came from CBS Sports, with Jerry Palm putting the Vols in the Gator Bowl against Louisville. Palm previously had Tennessee in the Las Vegas Bowl against Arizona.
