ESPN's Football Power Index still has Vols in College Football Playoff field
ESPN’s Football Power Index has Tennessee at No. 5 following the loss at Georgia, the No. 1 team in the ranking. Ohio State is No. 2 and Alabama is No. 3 despite its overtime loss at LSU Saturday night, its second of the season. Michigan is No. 4 while Texas is No. 6 behind Tennessee. Undefeated TCU is No. 14 in the ranking.
The FPI gives the Vols a 76.0-percent chance to win their remaining three regular-season game and a 62.6-percent chance to make the four-team College Football Playoff field. It’s the third best percentage chance behind only Georgia (91.2) and Ohio State (86.6).
Vols host Missouri on Saturday
Tennessee (8-1, 4-1 SEC) hosts Missouri (4-5, 2-4) on Saturday in a Noon Eastern Time kickoff (TV: CBS) on Senior Day at Neyland Stadium. The Vols close the regular-season schedule at South Carolina on November 19 and at Vanderbilt on November 26.
Missouri lost 21-17 at home against Kentucky. The Tigers entered Saturday having won back-to-back SEC games. They beat Vanderbilt at home then won at South Carolina, after dropping three straight games to start conference play.
The Vols fell 27-13 at Georgia, the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, on Saturday at Sanford Stadium in Athens. Tennessee’s offense stalled in the loss, accounting for just 289 total yards.
Hendon Hooker completed 23 of 33 passes for 195 yards and was sacked six times. Jaylen Wright ran 21 times for 76 yards and Tennessee’s only touchdown, a 5-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Hooker ran 18 times for 47 yards. Jabari Small had three carries for eight yards early in the game before leaving with an upper body injury.
Cedric Tillman caught seven passes for 68 yards to lead the team in receiving. Jalin Hyatt had six catches for 63 yards and Bru McCoy caught six passes for 38 yards. Jacob Warren caught three passes for 21 yards and Princeton Fant had one catch for five yards.
Tennessee looking to ‘learn and grow’ from first loss
“Our kids have handled a bunch of adversity throughout their careers inside of this program,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “They’ve continued to fight and scratch and claw and be connected and come together. There’s not doubt in my mind that when we get back in the building on Monday, they’ll continue to do that. That’s how we got to the point of making this a big football game.
“We’ve got to go reset and continue to grow individually and collectively as a program. Everybody has got a hand in this. Starting with me and our staff and our players. Learn and grow and continue to climb as a program.”
