Former Alabama QB Greg McElroy shows Tennessee Vols an extreme lack of respect with harsh playoff comments
The Tennessee Vols are alive and well in the College Football Playoff race. Tennessee is ranked No. 8 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, which means all they need is a win against Vanderbilt in Nashville on Saturday and they're locked into the tournament. Despite some ups and downs, the Vols are right where […]
The Tennessee Vols are alive and well in the College Football Playoff race.
Tennessee is ranked No. 8 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, which means all they need is a win against Vanderbilt in Nashville on Saturday and they're locked into the tournament.
Despite some ups and downs, the Vols are right where they hoped to be at this point in the season — in position to compete for a national championship.
Former Alabama quarterback turned ESPN analyst Greg McElroy, however, doesn't see Tennessee as a true national championship contender.
McElroy also strongly suggested that Tennessee is backing its way into the 12-team playoff.
"Tennessee is at No. 8, they're in prime position after the losses all around them," said McElroy after the rankings were revealed on Tuesday. "Is Tennessee a national championship contender at the moment? I don't see them that way. But by a process of elimination, because of the way other teams have played, Tennessee went from the outside looking in to now the inside looking out — because of the loss by Bama and the loss by Ole Miss. So Tennessee is in prime position to secure a playoff spot. And [Tennessee] is a healthy favorite this weekend against Vandy. So Tennessee can punch their ticket with a road win against the Vanderbilt Commodores."
This tournament is wide open. Anyone who gets in — outside of maybe a Group of Five conference winner — is a threat to win the whole thing.
Has McElroy paid attention to what's happened this season? The parity in the sport is unreal. I mean, if Ole Miss, which is currently ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll, played the Oregon Ducks on a neutral field this weekend, would anyone be surprised if the Rebels won?
There are plenty of examples like that. If Tennessee plays to its potential, they can hang with anyone in the nation. That doesn't mean I think the Vols are going to waltz their way to a natty if they get into the playoff, but they certainly have the talent to win it all. They just have to play their best games of the season in the playoff.
McElroy's subtle suggestion that Tennessee is "backing" into the playoff is also misguided. The only reason that's the narrative is because the committee arbitrarily decided to rank the Vols behind Ole Miss last week (even though Ole Miss had far worse losses at the time) and behind Alabama (even though Tennessee had the same record as Bama and the Vols beat the Tide head to head earlier this season). Tennessee isn't backing in, they're right where they should've been last week.
Maybe Tennessee should thank McElroy. A little bulletin board material before a big game never hurts.
