Tennessee football Week 11 rooting guide: Vol fans might have to swallow their pride on Saturday

The Tennessee Volunteers found out their place in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night, where they were ranked seventh in the overall rankings and seeded eighth in the bracket.   At this point, the path is simple for Tennessee to get to the playoff: win.  Do that each week from here on out, and […]

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Oct 19, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) runs the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half at Neyland Stadium.
Oct 19, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) runs the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers found out their place in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night, where they were ranked seventh in the overall rankings and seeded eighth in the bracket.  

At this point, the path is simple for Tennessee to get to the playoff: win.  Do that each week from here on out, and there's no doubt the Vols are in the playoff.  A trip to Atlanta for the SEC championship game would also be in the cards.  

However, things often don't go to plan, and backup plans and contingencies are never a bad thing.  As such, the Vols could stand to see some other results play out on the field to help boost their chances in the event of a loss.  Here are a list of key games and how Tennessee fans should be rooting for things to unfold. 

  • Alabama at LSU: Wow, this one is tough.  At first glance, one might think Vol fans would want to see Alabama knocked out of the picture altogether with a loss, which should be the case.  However, that would put LSU on a path to surpass the Vols if Tennessee were to lose to Georgia next weekend.  With wins over Alabama and Ole Miss and no loss to Tennessee, there wouldn't be a strong argument for a 10-2 Tennessee team to be above a 10-2 LSU team.  The Tigers' schedule – with Vandy maybe being the exception – looks rather navigable the rest of the way. 
  • However, an Alabama win would knock LSU out while also continuing to prop up the Vols' best win of the season.  The hope would have to be that the committee would recognize head-to-head as highly important and see a 10-2 Tennessee team with wins over Alabama and Vandy as being the better resume.  Still not ideal, but more pros here than LSU being above UT. 
  • Georgia at Ole Miss: Some Tennessee fans might want to see Georgia lose (a natural instinct), but that would bring Ole Miss right back into the conversation, potentially ahead of the Vols if UT loses next week. Also don't want to face a bunch of angry Bulldogs coming off the bye. Cheer against Lane Kiffin; that's also a natural instinct for many UT fans anyways. 
  • Miami at Georgia Tech: It goes without saying that it would help UT for all of the undefeated teams to drop at least one game before their conference title games.  
  • As such, you can throw in Michigan-Indiana, Maryland-Oregon, and BYU-Utah in the same pot as well. 
  • There are a pair of one-loss teams facing absolute cupcakes this weekend in Purdue-Ohio State and FSU-Notre Dame.  Almost no chance for an upset, but still, losses there would be huge. 
  • Texas and Penn State are one-loss teams with home tilts against mediocre opponents in Florida (likely without QB DJ Lagway) and Washington, respectively.  There's hope, albeit not all that much. 

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