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Where Tennessee Lands In Final College Football Playoff Projections

By Ryan Schumpert
- Dec 8, 2024

Tennessee will find out its fate in the College Football Playoffs fate tomorrow when the committee reveals the 12-team field at noon ET on ESPN.

The Vols entered conference championship weekend as the No. 9 seed and projected to go on the road to face No. 8 Ohio State in the first round of the playoffs. Did anything happen on conference championship week to change that?

Probably not but it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility. Georgia defeated Texas in the SEC Championship to hand the Longhorns their second loss with its best win being over 8-4 Texas A&M. Is that enough for Tennessee to jump Texas with one fewer win? Probably not but there’s a chance the committee could view things differently.

In the Big 10, Oregon defeated Penn State 45-37 in a game where they led by between seven and 15 points for the vast majority of the game. Still, the Nittany Lions had the ball down by one score in the final minutes of the game before Drew Allar threw an interception.

That seems like it will be enough for Penn State to hold steady ahead of Ohio State in the rankings and set Tennessee up for a trip to Columbus.

Then in the ACC, Clemson defeated SMU 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal as time expired. The Mustangs overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to tie the game in the final 30 seconds before a long return set up the game winning kick. That game had no impact on Tennessee but does impact Alabama’s chances to make the playoffs.

There’s a chance Tennessee’s playoff path could change and some people are predicting it though I’m skeptical. Here’s where the final playoff projections have the Vols landing and a look at how people view Alabama’s resume.