As Tennessee football enters its fourth season under head coach Josh Heupel the Vols have a clear and concise goal.
That’s to make the College Football Playoff for the first time in its existence. Making the playoff will be significantly easier this season that it’s been in recent seasons with the playoff expanding from four to 12 teams.
The champions of the ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and SEC receive automatic bids to the playoff as does the highest rated team not in one of the Power Four conferences. That leaves seven bids remaining for the highest ranked teams. So what are the chances that Tennessee can make the College Football Playoff next season?
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Tennessee is +180 to make the playoffs next season and -235 to miss the playoffs. That translates to the sportsbook giving the Vols roughly a 35% chance of making the first expanded College Football Playoff.
| TN Sportsbook | Bonus Offer | Bonus Link |
|---|---|---|
| BetMGM | Bet $5, Get $158 in bonus bets | Claim Bonus — Use Code ROCKYBET |
| FanDuel | Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets Guaranteed | Claim Bonus |
| Caesars Sportsbook | Get a first bet on Caesars of up to $1,000 | Claim Bonus — Use Code STARTGET |
Tennessee football has the 14th best odds to make the College Football Playoff according to DraftKings behind Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Oregon, Missouri, Penn State and Texas.
The Vols are hoping for an offensive bounce back as they enter Nico Iamaleava’s first season as Tennessee’s starting quarterback. Tennessee’s offense was underwhelming last season but are looking for a better passing attack with Iamaleava stepping in as the starting quarterback.
There’s plenty of questions about Tennessee’s defense particularly in the secondary, but the Vols should have a strong front seven and perhaps one of the best defensive lines in the entire country.
More From RTI: Breaking Down Tennessee’s Receiver Room Following Spring Practice
Working in Tennessee’s advantage is a very manageable schedule next season. The Vols have challenging games against Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina State and Oklahoma but will likely be sizable favorites in every other game they play.
Tennessee faces perhaps the three worst teams in the SEC— Arkansas, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt— including two of its four road conference games.
DraftKings released the lines for five Tennessee football games earlier this week. The Vols were slight underdogs against Alabama and Oklahoma, significant underdogs at Georgia, slight favorites against North Carolina State and double-digit favorites versus Florida. Check out all the game spreads here.
Tennessee posting a 10-2 record would almost certainly get the Vols in the playoffs next season while recording a 9-3 record would give them an outside chance to make the playoffs.
