ESPN college football writer says one Tennessee Vols game in 2024 could be viewed as a playoff elimination game
Thanks to some major conference realignment this offseason, college football is set to see several new conference matchups in 2024. Georgia vs Texas, Ohio State vs Oregon, and UCLA vs Rutgers are among the strange-feeling new conference matchups that we'll see starting this fall. ESPN college football writer/reporter Chris Low thinks one of the new […]
Thanks to some major conference realignment this offseason, college football is set to see several new conference matchups in 2024.
Georgia vs Texas, Ohio State vs Oregon, and UCLA vs Rutgers are among the strange-feeling new conference matchups that we'll see starting this fall.
ESPN college football writer/reporter Chris Low thinks one of the new conference matchups in 2024 could be viewed as a de facto College Football Playoff elimination game.
The Tennessee Vols will travel to Norman on September 21 to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in an SEC showdown. The matchup will be Vols head coach Josh Heupel's first game in Norman since he was fired by then Sooners head coach Bob Stoops after the 2014 season.
"In a lot of ways, this could be a playoff elimination game," suggested Low this week. "The loser would have a huge mountain to climb to claw its way back into the playoff picture with a loss so early in the season and so many difficult games ahead."
Tennessee can probably afford two losses and still have a decent shot at reaching the newly expanded 12-team playoff.
But if their first loss comes in September, it would leave very little room for error the rest of the season — especially with matchups against Alabama and Georgia looming. The last thing the Vols want is to go into Athens on November 16 in a must-win scenario.
Tennessee still has a viable path to the playoff even with a loss to Oklahoma. But the pressure would be turned up a notch on the Vols. Getting a win in Norman would set the tone for the season and give Tennessee a little breathing room as they search for their first playoff appearance in program history.
