Tennessee suffered its second loss of the season in a high-stakes SEC rivalry game against Georgia in Athens on Saturday night.
But while Tennessee’s loss doesn’t mathematically eliminate them from playoff contention by any stretch, it does make the Vols’ road to the final 12 a bit more hazy along the way. We’ll have to wait and see what the third edition of the playoff rankings look like on Tuesday night but it feels likely that Tennessee will be behind Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Ole Miss in the rankings – just like the AP rankings from Sunday afternoon.
During a “Paul In or Paul Out” segment on ESPN Sunday morning, SEC Network host Paul Finebaum declared whether he was “all in or all out” on certain topics around the college football landscape. One of the questions delivered to Finebaum was whether Tennessee was still a playoff team despite suffering that second loss on Saturday.
Finebaum believes so.
“Now, I’m Paul In, but I need to explain,” Finebaum said as he prepared his defense for Tennessee. “People are saying that he’s just saying this because he’s a graduate (of Tennessee). I still have a couple of incompletes from the late ’70s, Randy. So I’m a little nervous they may recall my degree. But the point is, I think Tennessee ultimately will get in. Right now they are not. Tuesday night, you won’t see them in the field. But I still believe there will be a number of upsets and I frankly believe Tennessee has done enough. That win over Alabama is going to carry a lot of favor. Losing to Georgia, no crime. Georgia has lost a few times as well. But so Tennessee, in the end, will get in.”
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As Finebaum mentions, Tennessee will need a little help but it could come from a few different directions. For instance, Notre Dame or Indiana suffering losses in the next few weeks would help Tennessee’s positioning.
“The Volunteers’ eighth straight loss to Georgia didn’t necessarily knock them out of the CFP, but they’re going to face an uphill battle to get back into the top 12 unless there are some upsets in the final two weeks of the regular season,” ESPN’s Mark Schlabach wrote on Sunday. “Tennessee (8-2) had a great win over Alabama at home, but victories over struggling NC State and Oklahoma won’t do much to help its chances.”
We can (and will) talk about Tennessee’s potential route into the Top 12 as the week goes on but there’s nothing more important than winning for the Vols. If Tennessee picks up a loss against UTEP or Vanderbilt in the final two weeks of the regular season, it would be detrimental for Tennessee’s chances. As Finebaum said, losing to Georgia is no crime, but it does mean that Tennessee has to be perfect from here on out as the rest of the college football season unfolds.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football coverage throughout the week.
