ESPN Playoff Predictor: Tennessee a lock for College Football Playoff, but chance to host drops
Tennessee is a lock for the College Football Playoff, according to ESPN’s Playoff Predictor, which gives the Vols a greater than 99% chance to make the new 12-team playoff bracket.
Tennessee’s chances to host a home game in the first round have dropped over the last week, though, going from 40% after the 36-23 win at Vanderbilt on Saturday to a current 30% chance.
The ESPN Playoff Predictor has eight teams locked into the field, with Oregon, Texas, Georgia, Penn State, Indiana, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Tennessee all with greater than a 99% chance to make the playoff.
College Football Playoff bracket will be announced Sunday
Boise State had a 69% chance entering Friday’s Mountain West championship game. The Broncos unofficially punched their playoff ticket with a 21-7 win over UNLV to win the conference title Friday night.
Alabama entered Championship Saturday with an 86% chance to make the playoff. The 9-3 Crimson Tide were the final team in the field on Tuesday night when the College Football Playoff selection committee released their final rankings and bracket update.
The final College Football Playoff bracket will be announced on Sunday beginning at Noon Eastern Time on ESPN.
On Saturday Iowa State will face Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship, Texas will play Georgia in the SEC Championship, Clemson will play SMU in the ACC Championship and Oregon will play Penn State in the Big 10 Championship.
Tennessee ranked No. 7, seeded ninth in last College Football Playoff update
On Tuesday night Tennessee was ranked No. 7 and seeded ninth. Ohio State dropped to No. 6 and was seeded eighth, getting the final host spot in the first round after its 13-10 home loss to Michigan last week.
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The Buckeyes have greater than a 99% chance to host in the first round, according to the ESPN Playoff Predictor. Notre Dame also has a greater than 99% chance to play at home in the first round.
Tuesday’s ranking and bracket update had Tennessee going to Ohio State in the first round in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game, with the winner advancing to face No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
Tuesday’s bracket had Alabama getting the final spot over Miami, which lost at Syracuse last week to end the regular season with a 10-2 record.
The projected bracket had Oregon, Texas, SMU and Boise State getting byes into the quarterfinal round as the four highest-ranked projected conference champions. The other first-round matchup projections were No. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Penn State, No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Georgia.
The four highest-ranked conference champions receive byes while teams seeded Nos. 5-8 host first-round games, with teams seeded Nos. 9-12 going on the road.
