Tennessee Vols get two big wins even with the loss to Georgia
The Tennessee Vols lost 27-13 to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, ending UT's eight-game winning streak. Tennessee's SEC East division title hopes are on life support at this point. The Bulldogs would have to lose to Mississippi State and Kentucky for the Vols to have a shot at winning the SEC East. But despite the […]
The Tennessee Vols lost 27-13 to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, ending UT's eight-game winning streak.
Tennessee's SEC East division title hopes are on life support at this point. The Bulldogs would have to lose to Mississippi State and Kentucky for the Vols to have a shot at winning the SEC East.
But despite the tough loss and the likely loss of the division, Tennessee still managed to pick up a couple of key wins on Saturday.
And the key wins were thanks to LSU and Notre Dame.
LSU knocked off Alabama in a thrilling overtime win on Saturday night and Notre Dame easily handled Clemson.
Those two losses are absolutely massive for Tennessee's College Football Playoff hopes.
If the Vols win out and finish the regular season with an 11-1 record, they should get into the playoff.
There are still enough teams in the mix, though, that it's unclear exactly how the committee will rank the top teams. Tennessee would feel a lot better if that uncertainty is mostly removed.
Clemson with a loss and Alabama with two losses have essentially been removed from the playoff conversation. So that's two fewer teams the Vols have to worry about.
For now, Georgia, Ohio State, and Michigan are for sure going to be ahead of the Vols. And TCU might jump Tennessee. Oregon, with just one loss (in the season opener to Georgia), is another team that's hanging around in the picture as well.
Michigan and Ohio State still have to play each other so one of those will be removed from the equation after that game (you have to think a one-loss SEC team gets in over a one-loss B1G team). The Vols still need TCU to lose and another Oregon loss would help as well.
There's still a lot of football left to be played. But LSU and Notre Dame winning on Saturday night helps Tennessee a lot.
The Vols might not be undefeated anymore, and they probably aren't going to Atlanta to play for the SEC Championship, but they can still win a national championship. And ultimately, that's the main goal of every season.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
