Bowl Projections: Tennessee-Ohio State is nearly unanimous in playoff predictions
Ohio State’s 13-10 loss to unranked Michigan Saturday at Ohio Stadium could put the Buckeyes on Tennessee’s College Football Playoff path in the first round. Most bowl projections following 15 have the Vols facing Ohio State in the 12-team playoff bracket.
On3, Sporting News, CBS Sports and ESPN’s Heather Dinich all currently have Tennessee and Ohio State in the No. 8-seed vs. No. 9-seed game in the first round.
“As embarrassing as the loss to Michigan was,” Andy Staples wrote in On3’s playoff predictions, “Ohio State has two wins (one on the road) against teams that are going to make the CFP (Penn State and Indiana). That’s probably good enough to get a home game.”
Tennessee ranked ahead of Ohio State in AP Top 25, Coaches Poll
Ohio State (10-2) dropped to No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday and to No. 8 in the Coaches Poll. Tennessee (10-2), after a 36-23 win at Vanderbilt, moved up to No. 6 in both polls.
“The Volunteers pulled away from Vanderbilt on Saturday to effectively lock in a spot in the field,” Staples wrote. “All that angst from a few weeks ago about Tennessee on the bubble is gone, passed along to Miami and to the SEC teams that slipped a third time. The Vols are in.”
ESPN’s Playoff Predictor gives Tennessee a 98% chance to make the playoff, a 58% chance to play on the road in the first round and a 40% chance to host a playoff game.
Sporting News, CBS Sports and Athlon all had Tennessee as the No. 9 seed going to No. 8 Ohio State.
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The only exception to the Tennessee-Ohio State predictions came from ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach.
Bongaura had the Vols as a No. 10 seed at No. 7 Penn State, with the winner facing Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Schlabach had Tennessee as the No. 9, at No. 8 Penn State, with the winner facing Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
Tennessee and Ohio State have played just once in football
Tennessee and Ohio State have met just once on the football field, with the Vols winning 20-14 in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando to finish an 11-1 season on New Year’s Day 1996.
Jay Graham was named MVP after running for 154 yards, including a game-tying 69-yard touchdown run late in the first half, and Peyton Manning completed 20 of 35 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown. Joey Kent caught seven passes for 109 yards, including a 47-yard go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. Jeff Hall added two field goals in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee’s defense forced three turnovers, had a goal-line stand at the 3-yard line in the second quarter and held Heisman Trophy-winning running back Eddie George to a season-low 89 yards.
