The last four games have seen Tennessee’s College Football Playoff hopes go up-and-down like a roller coaster. Tennessee felt like a near lock to make the playoffs after opening up SEC play with a win over Oklahoma only for them to severely drop off following their upset loss at Arkansas.
The loss in Fayetteville gave Tennessee little room for error the rest of the way. Tennessee tread water in an overtime win over Florida before significantly bolstering its playoff chances with its 24-17 win over Alabama on Saturday afternoon.
So what do the experts in the desert now think about Tennessee’s College Football Playoff hopes? According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Tennessee is -150 to make the 12-team College Football Playoff this season.
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The Vols have the ninth best odds to make the playoffs at the moment, behind Oregons (-2500), Ohio State (-1200), Texas (-1000), Georgia (-1000), Penn State (-750), Miami (-400), Clemson (-300) and Notre Dame (-250). The biggest note is that Texas and Georgia are the only SEC team with better odds to make the playoffs than Tennessee. However, there are a handful of teams close behind the Vols.
LSU and Texas A&M are both -110 while Alabama is -105. Following that trio of SEC teams in the betting odds are Boise State, Iowa State and Indiana. At the moment, DraftKings is largely hedging its bets on who will make the playoffs out of the SEC behind Georgia and Texas.
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Tennessee enters its second open date of the season with a 6-1 (3-1 SEC) record. The Vols host Kentucky and Mississippi State at Neyland Stadium following the open date. Tennessee then travels to Georgia, hosts UTEP and travels to Vanderbilt to conclude its regular season.
A 10-2 (6-2 SEC) record feels like the most likely outcome for Tennessee and would likely be good enough to make the playoffs. The only potential problem is that overall weak nature of Tennessee’s schedule. North Carolina State and Oklahoma haven’t come close to meeting preseason expectations nor has Kentucky.
Tennessee could use Arkansas, Alabama and Vanderbilt to keep winning as many games as possible to help bolster its resume and remove any doubt on whether a 10-2 Volunteer team makes the playoffs.
The ESPN Football Power Index currently gives Tennessee an 83% chance or better to win every single game on its schedule outside of its road trip to Georgia. The FPI gives the Vols a 39% chance to earn their first win over Georgia since 2016.
DraftKings Sportbooks has the betting odds for Tennessee to win the SEC at +1000 and to win the National Championship at +1500.
