The Tennessee Volunteers are going to be a part of the new 12-team College Football Playoff. However, some pundits see the Vols getting a small bit of unfortunate news nonetheless.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich and CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm put out their latest bracket projections, and the Vols check in as the #9 seed, traveling to face #8 seed Ohio State in the first round. The winner there would go on to face the #1 overall seed, who is currently projected to be Oregon. If it’s Oregon, that quarterfinal game would take place in the Rose Bowl.
Playing in Columbus would be a tough assignment for the Vols. Despite the shocking 13-10 loss, Ohio State is easily one of the top three or four most talented teams in the country, and the Horseshoe is no picknick.
The question, obviously, at this point is: how far does Ohio State fall after their loss? That’s something that Tennessee fans will have their eyes on when the new playoff rankings and bracket are revealed on Tuesday night.
Tennessee got a little bit more help on Saturday, with Miami losing and Texas preventing Texas A&M from being a bid stealer and potentially knocking everyone down a rung. However, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Georgia all ultimately took care of business over the weekend.
We’ll find out on Tuesday just where the Vols are ranked, and whether it looks like the Vols could be facing off with the Buckeyes for the first time since the Citrus Bowl following the 1995 season.