Latest College Football Playoff projection should serve as a wake-up call for the Tennessee Vols
Last week around this time, the Tennessee Vols were featured in the majority of College Football Playoff projections as one of the top eight seeds (which would mean hosting a playoff game in the first round). After a tough road loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks this past weekend, the Vols are no longer being viewed […]
Last week around this time, the Tennessee Vols were featured in the majority of College Football Playoff projections as one of the top eight seeds (which would mean hosting a playoff game in the first round).
After a tough road loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks this past weekend, the Vols are no longer being viewed (by many outlets) as a playoff team.
On3's Andy Staples revealed his latest College Football Playoff prediction on Sunday and he has Tennessee as one of the first four teams out of the tournament.
These predictions will continue to evolve over the next two months. But for now, Vols obviously have some work to do. And it's clear that Tennessee's inclusion in the playoff won't be as "automatic" as some folks thought it would be a week ago.
Despite the ugly performance that we saw from the Vols in Fayetteville on Saturday night, Tennessee is still a team that has the talent reach the playoff. But they won't stand a chance of reaching the playoff if they fail to play with an edge for the rest of the season.
It felt like Tennessee took a lot for granted leading into their matchup against Arkansas this past weekend. That's something that's been common throughout college football the last few weeks (Alabama and Ole Miss have similar losses). So while it was an unfortunate outcome for UT, it wasn't exactly uncommon.
The Vols can't dwell on the loss to the Razorbacks. They can't feel sorry for themselves. There's no changing it now. Instead, Tennessee needs to use the loss and the current predictions for the playoff as a wake-up call for the rest of the season. Tennessee can't afford another Saturday like the one they had in Fayetteville, otherwise they'll be watching the playoff with the rest of us.
