Tennessee football received bad news from the College Football Playoff selection committee on Tuesday night as the Vols came in at No. 7 in the latest rankings, one spot behind Ohio State.
The Vols coming in one-spot behind the Buckeyes in the rankings was critical as it kept Tennessee projected as the No. 9 seed in the playoffs. As the nine-seed, Tennessee is poised to go on the road in the first round of the playoffs with Columbus being the current destination.
Both Tennessee and Ohio State boast 10-2 records at the conclusion of the regular season and neither will play in their perspective conference championship games this weekend.
So why did the committee give Ohio State the higher seed instead of Tennessee? College Football Playoff chairman Warde Manuel explained on a conference call Wednesday night.
“Very similar resumes,” said Manuel, the Michigan Athletic Director. “Ohio State is 2-1 against top-10 teams. They have the win over Indiana and the win over Penn State. One of their two losses is to the No. 1 team in the country and then obviously the loss to Michigan last week.
Tennessee also has had an impressive resume. They have two losses against Arkansas and against No. 5 Georgia. So they’re very close. It was a constant conversation as to how we saw both teams, a lot of deliberation on them, and so it was just — it was a lot of conversation in the outcome of the vote that had Ohio State ahead of Tennessee.”
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Ohio State does have a better resume than Tennessee at the end of the regular season though not by a substantial matter. The quality of losses are largely the same with the Buckeyes losing to 6-6 Michigan at home and No. 1 Oregon on the road while Tennessee lost at 6-6 Arkansas and No. 5 Georgia on the road.
But the Buckeyes having a second top notch win, Indiana as well as Penn State, in the committee’s eyes proves to be the difference over Tennessee having just one top notch win against Alabama. The legitimacy of Indiana being a top 10 win can be argued but with the Hoosiers ranked ninth, there’s no doubt that Ohio State’s wins are better than Tennessee’s on paper.
With neither Tennessee nor Ohio State playing this weekend, there’s little chance of the Vols hosting a playoff game at Neyland Stadium. However, there’s a more realistic chance that they wouldn’t face Ohio State in the first round.
If Oregon defeats Penn State in the Big 10 Championship, Ohio State could potentially jump the Nittany Lions given they defeated them in the regular season and would have a better resume despite boasting one fewer win. That would open up the possibility of Tennessee traveling to Penn State in the first round of the College Football Playoffs.
Tennessee will officially figure out its postseason draw next Sunday, Dec. 8 at noon ET on ESPN.
