ESPN predicts where Tennessee Vols will land in College Football Playoff rankings after win against Mississippi State
The Tennessee Vols improved to 8-1 on Saturday night thanks to their 33-14 win against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Tennessee cruised for most of the night against Mississippi State, but the game still had plenty of anxious moments for Vols fans. Starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava left the game after the first half due to an […]
The Tennessee Vols improved to 8-1 on Saturday night thanks to their 33-14 win against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Tennessee cruised for most of the night against Mississippi State, but the game still had plenty of anxious moments for Vols fans.
Starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava left the game after the first half due to an undisclosed injury (Vols head coach Josh Heupel said after the game that he expects Nico to play against Georgia next weekend). Wide receiver Dont'e Thornton also left the game due to injury.
A win, however, is a win. And the win against Mississippi State has the Vols in excellent shape for the upcoming College Football Playoff with just three games remaining in the regular season.
Speaking of the playoff, ESPN revealed their latest College Football Playoff rankings projection and they have Tennessee jumping from No. 7 to No. 5 after their win over the Bulldogs.
From ESPN: A win against now 2-8 Mississippi State isn't going to impress the committee — especially considering the offense continues to show some vulnerabilities. Any movement for the Vols would be as a result of teams around them shuffling. The committee liked the Vols' win against Alabama, which looks even better after the Tide beat LSU, but the group also struggled with Tennessee's loss to Arkansas.
ESPN has Penn State, which is also 8-1, at No. 4 in their rankings.
Tennessee has a strong case to ranked above the Nittany Lions. Penn State doesn't have a win over a ranked opponent. The Vols, meanwhile, have a win against Alabama, a team that's ranked No. 9 in ESPN's playoff rankings. That win alone should be enough for Tennessee to leapfrog Penn State in the rankings.
We'll see how the committee feels on Tuesday night when the new rankings are revealed.
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