Tennessee on outside-looking-in of ESPN's latest CFP projection
Tennessee is on the outskirts of the College Football Playoff discussion, according to ESPN.
The Vols were put into the “first four out” section of ESPN’s updated CFP bubble projection on Tuesday. Tennessee is in that section along with Clemson, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, who the Vols will face this weekend in Norman.
Here’s what ESPN’s Heather Dinich wrote about the Vols in this week’s bubble watch story:
“The Vols have looked the part of a playoff team, and if they have another complete performance this week at Oklahoma, which will be their first real test of the season, they’ll move up.”
The SEC is expected to get several teams into the CFP this season as it expands to 12 teams. In this projection from ESPN, a total of 5 SEC teams cracked the 12-team field: Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Missouri.
Tennessee has been as dominant as anyone in the country so far this season, albeit against substandard competition. However, as Dinich noted, the Vols have a chance to earn their first ranked win of the year on Saturday in Norman against Oklahoma.
For what it’s worth, betting markets view Tennessee as a significant favorite to make the CFP after 3 weeks. Per bet365, the Vols are -200 to reach the CFP this season. That’s ahead of Missouri (+160), who ESPN is currently projecting to make the 12-team field.
Tennessee is a 7-point favorite over the Sooners, per bet365. If the Vols are able to come away with the win, it would be one of the biggest road victories in recent Tennessee football history.
Kickoff against Oklahoma is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night.
But Nicolette Llama has already won the Heisman, just like Hooker and Milton did!!!!
Look what Jalen Carter did…..
Shouldn’t you be getting bail money ready for UGA players ?
We could raise the ticket prices.
Can’t do that…any additional revenue from increased game ticket prices will be needed to pay for bail and fines for the 25 players who’ve been arrested for traffic offenses….
I’d worry about Carson Beck and Georgia if I were you.13 points and 262 yards Against Kentucky?An offense ranked 68th in the country?Whew lad.
What’s the current over/under on Georgia speeding fatalities this year, little fella?
Play nice. I don’t think anyone has awarded Nico Iamaleava the Heisman yet. We want to believe that our man can receive the coveted award, just like anyone else believes that anyone on their team that is that good could win it.
Not too sure who Llama is, but if you really need some spelling lessons and live in Georgia, the Tennessee border probably isn’t too far away.
Love it when bandwagon pup fan TDUMB shows up here
Way too early to be worried about the playoffs. Let’s get at least half way through the season, then things will start to shape up. Just win and it will take care of itself.
I’m so old I can remember when the BCS didn’t release their first poll until somewhere in October.
I kinda like having some doubters, personally. And maybe some of us are jumping the gun with the early schedule being as weak as it has been. NC State is not a very good team, but that’s our best win. It was an impressive win, I will admit, beating them in their home state in front of a huge number of their own fans by a margin of 51-10. But I’m ok with ESPN not wanting to give much credit yet. I don’t think we want that kind of attention just yet. Win at Oklahoma and I’m sure there will be plenty of attention by everyone.
And I’ll just say, I think this team is UT’s best of the last 25 years. This team has a better offensive line and running game than 2022. The passing game has the potential to be just as good. The defense on this team is much better than 2022.
If they’re as good as I think they are, they’ll likely hit at least the mid-30s and could go much higher. Meanwhile, I think Oklahoma will struggle to score on this defense. The Sooners have struggled scoring on Houston and Tulane and this UT defense is stronger and much deeper than either. Bottom line: I think Tennessee covers that 7pt spread with relative ease. I wouldn’t be surprised if they win by 3 touchdowns or more. I predict 37-13.
Too early to be concerned with this but they have to be assuming we will drop 3 games.
The comments above regarding the Heisman are just ridiculous. Everyone at UT knowns you can’t win a Heisman. The national media ensures that.
It doesn’t really matter, especially before the first CFP rankings come out, if sportswriters think a team is in or not. Ask FSU. The Vols have the opportunity to play our way into or out of the CFP.
NC State was a ranked win, though I think they are unlikely to get in the top 25 again even if their starting QB wasn’t out.
Love it when woke women try and talk about sports SMH