ESPN analysts gave a confusing assessment of Tennessee and Alabama’s playoff chances during SEC Nation on Saturday morning.
The main story of the segment was that Alabama seemingly has significantly more wiggle room than Tennessee despite the Vols having a better record and a win over the Crimson Tide from October.
Follow along and decide for yourself.
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SEC Nation Addresses the Playoffs
ESPN CFB analyst Heather Dinich is one of the network’s top playoff contributors as she gives weekly analysis and insight on the college football world’s push to the first-ever 12-team playoff.
While previewing this weekend’s slate of games on SEC Nation, Dinich zeroed in on Saturday night’s contest between two-loss Alabama and two-loss LSU. Dinich made the claim that the Tigers will no longer be in playoff contention with a third loss on the season but she hesitates to say the same about Alabama.
“When you look at Alabama, the reason I hesitate to completely eliminate the Tide with a third loss is because of their win against Georgia,” Dinich said on the show.
The ESPN analyst then pointed to the potential outcome of Georgia winning the SEC Championship, meaning that a three-loss Alabama team would still have a win over the SEC Champion.
Tennessee can’t even afford a second loss, though, according to SEC Network host Roman Harper.
While Alabama could topple the odds and potentially make the playoffs with three losses, Harper believes that Tennessee must finish the season at 11-1 to make the playoffs. That would mean winning out the regular season for Josh Heupel’s group including games against Mississippi State, Georgia, UTEP, and Vanderbilt.
“I think that Tennessee has to win out,” Harper said on Saturday morning’s show. “That’s a team that scares me because when this thing comes down to being a beauty contest, their schedule might not be the most beautiful contestant out there. Tennessee is a team that is teetering. Tennessee has to win out because of who they have played and how they look offensively.”
While there are only four more weeks until the final release of the college football playoff rankings, a lot will happen between now and then. That includes both on the field with the teams and all the conversations and hypotheticals to come from the media.
No. 11 Alabama enters Saturday’s game at a 6-2 record with losses to Vanderbilt and No. 7 Tennessee. The Volunteers, on the other hand, have a 7-1 record as they prepare to host Mississippi State on Saturday night in Knoxville. Dinich suggests that Alabama could potentially afford a third loss on Saturday while Harper believes that Tennessee simply cannot suffer a second loss at any point this season.
It’s all a bit confusing, but what isn’t confusing is that wins can cut through the fog with relative ease. Tennessee can take all – well, most – controversy out of the committee’s hands by continuing its win streak to close the season.
No. 7 Tennessee will look to start that path with a 7:00 p.m. game against Mississippi State on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium.
