ESPN's Rece Davis has a take on Tennessee Vols' playoff chances that will make UT fans smile
There's been plenty of debate over the last several days about the Tennessee Vols and where they stand in the race for the four spots in the College Football Playoff. Tennessee won't be playing for the SEC Championship in December (unless Georgia loses their next two games, which is extremely unlikely). But if they finish […]
There's been plenty of debate over the last several days about the Tennessee Vols and where they stand in the race for the four spots in the College Football Playoff.
Tennessee won't be playing for the SEC Championship in December (unless Georgia loses their next two games, which is extremely unlikely). But if they finish with an 11-1 record, they'll have one of the best resumés in the nation.
The general consensus seems to be that UT will get into the playoff with a TCU loss (as long as the Vols win out).
One scenario that could cause some problems for the Vols would be if LSU beats Georgia in the SEC Championship game.
A one-loss Georgia team would get in if that loss comes in the SEC Championship game.
And some analysts feel like a two-loss LSU team that wins the SEC Championship would get in over a one-loss Tennessee team.
ESPN's Rece Davis, however, believes the Vols have LSU "blocked out" of the playoff because of Tennessee's 40-13 win in Baton Rouge earlier this season.
"I feel like Tennessee has LSU blocked out," said Davis this week. "Because of the way they won that game (against LSU) by 27 points. Even if LSU beats Georgia in the SEC Championship game, certainly you'd listen to arguments for LSU and understand that one of the losses was by one point on opening night…if I were in that committee room there's no way I could rank LSU ahead of Tennessee based on what they did."
"Now head to head is not the be-all, end-all," added Davis. "Especially if it's a close tight game and a long time has passed. But when the victory is that emphatic. And it's on your home field — which, by the way, that's another little check mark in Tennessee's favor when you start being evaluated for a spot. Likely the fourth spot, maybe the third one. Start going down the list of contenders and find me a great road win. That's about it."
LSU beating Georgia in Atlanta isn't a scenario that I think will happen. But this is college football and things can get wild. It certainly can't be ruled out.
Davis obviously isn't on the committee, but his voice is heard by a lot of folks. And the committee members, regardless of how hard they try, can't block out all of the opinions that are being shared. And there's no doubt that Davis is one of the voices they're hearing.
Ultimately, we don't know how the committee will rank Tennessee. But if they share Davis' view of the Vols' win over LSU, it could mean that Tennessee is locked into the playoff no matter what if they finish 11-1.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
