Bowl Projections: ESPN says Tennessee-Georgia is a College Football Playoff elimination game
No. 6 Tennessee’s game at No. 11 Georgia Saturday night is “basically” a College Football Playoff elimination game for both teams, according to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach. He currently projects the Vols as a No. 8 seed in the 12-team playoff, but that could change in Athens.
“The Bulldogs would probably get in the CFP with losses at Alabama and Ole Miss,” Schlabach wrote this week, “but they can’t survive three defeats. Tennessee has an Alabama victory in its cap, but that’s about it because NC State and Oklahoma have played poorly since losing to the Volunteers.
Schlabach has Tennessee as the No. 8 seed against No. 9 Alabama in a first-round playoff game at Neyland Stadium. ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura has Tennessee as a No. 7 seed, also against a No. 10-seed Alabama team at home in the first round.
No. 6 Tennessee at No. 11 Georgia, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Tennessee’s playoff chances seem to differ widely in bowl predictions this week, from as high as a No. 6 seed to out of the playoff entirely.
On3’s Andy Staples has Tennessee as a No. 6 seed, hosting No. 11 Penn State and the winner advancing to face No. 3 BYU in the quarterfinals.
“The Vols have a win against Alabama buoying them,” Staples wrote, “but a win against Georgia would all but guarantee a berth in the CFP. To do that, Tennessee would have to beat a Bulldogs team in desperation mode that must win to stay in the hunt.”
Georgia (7-2, 5-2 SEC) is coming off a 28-10 loss at Ole Miss while Tennessee (8-1, 5-1) moved to first place in the SEC standings after a 33-14 win over Mississippi State. The Vols have won four straight since the 19-14 loss at Arkansas on October 5.
Yahoo has Tennessee as a No. 7 seed, hosting No. 10 Notre Dame in the first round. The Action Network has the Vols as a No. 9 seed and an 0.5-point favorite in a first-round game at No. 8 Penn State.
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CBS Sports had Tennessee as a No. 10 seed playing at No. 7 Texas, with the winner advancing to face No. 2 BYU.
The Athletic has Tennessee out of the playoff, on the bubble
Bleacher Report has Tennessee as a No. 8 seed hosting No. 9 Indiana in the first round, the same projection the College Football Playoff selection committee had Tuesday in its first rankings release of the season. The Vols were ranked No. 7, one spot ahead of the Hoosiers.
The selection committee will update their rankings on Tuesday again this week.
The Athletic has Tennessee out of the playoffs this week. It gives the Vols just a 39% chance to make the 12-team bracket and only a 6% chance to host a game in the first round.
Tennessee is a bubble team, according to The Athletic, along with SMU, Colorado, Clemson, UNLV and Army.
The Athletic has Oregon, Texas, Miami and BYU as its top-four seeds, respectively. The first-round matchups were No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State, No. 12 Georgia at No. 7 Indiana and No. 11 Ole Miss at No. 6 Penn State.
