The Tennessee Vols have some work to do if they're going to make the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.

Tennessee slipped to No.5 in the rankings this week due to their 27-13 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens this past weekend.

The Vols are in decent shape since Ohio State and Michigan (No. 2 and No. 3 in the rankings) play each other later this season.

However, there's some concern that a one-loss Pac-12 conference champion (perhaps Oregon) could jump Tennessee in the rankings.

There are still three weeks left in the regular season so a lot of this stuff will sort itself out. The downside for the Vols is that they don't necessarily control their own destiny at this point.

Tennessee, however, still needs to focus on winning out. That's the only thing they can control. If the Vols finish 11-1 with three strong wins to end the regular season, then they'll have a solid case as a one-loss team to make the playoff.

Winning those three games — home against Missouri then on the road against South Carolina and Vanderbilt — is what's most important right now for the Volunteers.

And if there's a positive to be found from falling to No. 5 in the polls, it's that Tennessee should have plenty of motivation to play their best football of the season these final three weeks.

Georgia being ranked No. 3 last week was motivation for the Bulldogs. They felt disrespected as the defending national champions and they played one of their best games of the season against Tennessee.

The Vols need to channel that same energy these final few weeks. The national media has already been discounting Tennessee after the loss to Georgia. Now's the time to use all that doubt as fuel for the stretch run of the season.

UT still has a chance to finish the season with confetti falling on their heads as they celebrate. But they can't slip up during these final three games of the season.

It's time for Tennessee to use falling four spots in the rankings as motivation. If they do that and TCU loses, the Vols should be one of the last four teams standing this season.

Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK