If the College Football Playoffs started tomorrow, the nine-seed Tennessee Volunteers would travel to Columbus, OH to take on the eight-seed Ohio State Buckeyes. This was somewhat of a controversial ranking, as Ohio State finished their regular season with a loss to 7-5 Michigan at home.
Both the Volunteers and the Buckeyes are 10-2, with two conference losses. Selection Committee Chairman Warde Maneul weighed in on the decision to rank Ohio State above Tennessee.
“Yeah, very similar resumes,” Manuel said. “Ohio State is 2-1 against top-10 teams. They have the win over Indiana and the win over Penn State.”
Ohio State’s resume is supposedly better than Tennessee’s, and that’s why they were picked to host.
However, there are still several scenarios in which Tennessee could potentially draw a home playoff game.
Updated College Football Playoff bracket based on this week's committee rankings: pic.twitter.com/GQmCmV9rYF
— CFB Tracker (@MatchupTracker) December 4, 2024
Scenario 1
In this scenario, Penn State would lose by 21+ to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship. Penn State is currently the five-seed and is projected to host 12-seed Arizona State.
If the Nittany Lions get blown out by Oregon, it would do two things.
- Drop their seed.
- Damage one of Ohio State’s best wins.
With the Volunteers not participating in Championship Weekend, they can only benefit from whatever happens. In this scenario, I see Penn State dropping to the nine seed, Notre Dame rising to the five seed, and Tennessee rising to the seven seed and hosting a home playoff game.
Seeding: (1) Oregon, (2) Georgia, (3) SMU,(4) Boise State, (5) Notre Dame, (6) Texas, (7) Tennessee, (8) Ohio State, (9) Penn State, (10) Indiana, (11) Alabama, (12) Arizona State
EVERYTHING SCHOOL 😤🍊#Vols pic.twitter.com/nSq3DEKjBy
— Vols Big Orange Podcast (@BigOrangePod) December 4, 2024
Scenario 2
In this scenario, Texas would be blown out by Georgia for a second time. Both of Texas’ losses on the season would have come to Georgia, with one being at home, and the other a neutral site. These two locations are the most favorable for Texas, and they would have been blown out in both.
Compared to Tennessee, who went 7-0 at home, 1-0 at neutral sites, and suffered its two losses on the road. I do not see a Texas team that got blown out by Georgia twice, ranked above Tennessee.
In this scenario, Georgia would be the SEC Champion and the three seed, due to record. Texas would fall all the way to the eight seed, having no ranked wins. Tennessee would rise from the nine seed to the seven seed, and host a home playoff game.
Seeding: (1) Oregon, (2) Boise State, (3) Georiga, (4) Clemson, (5) Notre Dame, (6) Ohio State, (7) Tennessee, (8) Texas, (9) Penn State, (10) Indiana, (11) Arizona State, (12) SMU
Scenario 3
In this scenario, Texas beats Georgia in the SEC Championship. Georgia would then have three losses on the season. While there would be some debate about whether Georgia deserves to be in with three losses, I believe they are in regardless.
However, with three losses, there is no way Georgia will be given a home playoff game. I believe in this scenario, Georgia would fall all the way to the 12 seed. If Texas wins, and Oregon loses, Texas will take Oregon’s spot as the number one seed, and once again Tennessee would jump to the seven seed, and host a home playoff game.
Seeding: (1) Texas, (2) Penn State, (3) SMU, (4) Boise State, (5) Oregon, (6) Notre Dame, (7) Tennessee, (8) Ohio State, (9) Indiana, (10) Arizona State, (11) Alabama, (12) Georgia
Since the Volunteers are not participating in Championship Weekend, they can do little more besides sit back and watch. Fortunately, their seeding can’t drop and should only go up. There is a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless that Neyland Stadium gets to host a College Football Playoff game this December.
The Volunteers will be back in action during the first round of the College Football Playoffs. It is unknown yet who, where, or when they will play.
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