How ESPN thinks the Tennessee Vols fit into the College Football Playoff picture after win over Mississippi State
The Tennessee Vols earned an important SEC road win on Saturday, taking down the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday evening in Starkville. Tennessee’s 41-34 overtime win was the program’s first win in Starkville since 2007. More importantly, the Vols avoided a loss in what was a classic trap game ahead of an off weekend. Tennessee […]
The Tennessee Vols earned an important SEC road win on Saturday, taking down the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday evening in Starkville.
Tennessee’s 41-34 overtime win was the program’s first win in Starkville since 2007.
More importantly, the Vols avoided a loss in what was a classic trap game ahead of an off weekend. Tennessee has a bye next week before hosting a revenge game against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
How ESPN thinks Tennessee fits into the College Football Playoff picture after win over Mississippi State
ESPN’s Heather Dinich revealed her updated College Football Playoff rankings following Saturday’s college football action.
Dinich has Tennessee ranked at No. 11 after the Vols’ win in Starkville. Interestingly, she has Tennessee ranked above the LSU Tigers, which dropped a game to the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford on Saturday.
“The loss to Georgia is keeping the Vols behind the Bulldogs, and they got a scare Saturday at Mississippi State before winning in overtime,” wrote Dinich. “The season-opening win against Syracuse doesn’t look as impressive after the Orange lost 38-3 to Duke. Unlike LSU, though, the Vols haven’t had any trouble finding points.”
Because of automatic qualifiers, the Vols wouldn’t be one of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff in Dinich’s scenario. Instead, via Dinich’s rankings, it would be Texas Tech from the Big 12 and Memphis from the American Conference that would be in.
The good news for Tennessee is that even though it’s on the outside looking in (according to ESPN), the Vols still control their own destiny. With games remaining against Oklahoma and Alabama, the Vols can jump a couple of teams that are currently ahead of them in ESPN’s rankings.
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Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby’s comments after loss to the Vols aren’t fair to Tennessee’s players
The Tennessee Vols and the Mississippi State Bulldogs played a wild game in Starkville on Saturday evening. Both teams played sloppily at times — turnovers, penalties, and missed assignments hurt both teams. The Vols, however, were able to prevail in overtime, thanks to a goal-line stand from Tennessee’s defense that preserved the 41-34 win for […]
