The Tennessee Vols’ College Football Playoff hopes are on life support after the program suffered its third loss of the season earlier this month.

Tennessee was ranked at No. 25 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings last week.

With three weeks remaining in the season, the Vols need to win out, and they need several teams ahead of them to lose to have a legitimate chance to sneak into the 12-team playoff.

The 13 outcomes that Vols fans should be hoping for this weekend

There are 13 outcomes Tennessee fans should root for this weekend to help the Vols’ playoff hopes.

Now, all of these outcomes probably aren’t absolutely necessary for Tennessee to reach the playoff. But several of these outcomes would eliminate some arguments that may or may not go in the Vols’ favor in the College Football Playoff committee debate room.

Clemson over Louisville: Louisville was ranked ahead of Tennessee in last week’s rankings, but the Cardinals lost at home to California last weekend. Louisville now has two losses on the season. Its best win is a road victory against Miami. A three-loss Tennessee could be ranked ahead of a two-loss Louisville, but that’s no guarantee due to the Vols’ lack of a signature win.

Pittsburgh over Notre Dame: Notre Dame has two of the “best” losses in the sport (Miami and Texas A&M), but it doesn’t have a signature win (their best win is against USC). A three-loss Notre Dame could still be a problem for Tennessee.

Northwestern over Michigan: Michigan was ranked four spots ahead of Tennessee in last week’s rankings. A loss to Northwestern should drop the Wolverines behind the Volunteers.

Alabama over Oklahoma: A three-loss Alabama would get in over a three-loss Tennessee (Bama has the head-to-head, plus the Crimson Tide has better wins). That’s why Vols fans might as well root for Bama the rest of the way, even if it’s painful. A three-loss Oklahoma could still be a problem for Tennessee, so the Vols may need the Sooners to also lose to Missouri or LSU.

UCF over Texas Tech: Tennessee probably needs Texas Tech to lose its final two games of the season to leapfrog the Red Raiders in the rankings. Still, while a Texas Tech loss to UCF is unlikely, it would be beneficial for the Vols.

Duke over Virginia: We’ll see how far Virginia falls in this week’s playoff rankings after suffering a loss to Wake Forest this past weekend (UVA’s second loss). A third loss by the Cavaliers, though, would guarantee that Virginia would be behind a three-loss Tennessee.

Boston College over Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech was ranked eight spots ahead of the Vols last week. If the Yellow Jackets lose to Boston College (or Pittsburgh next week) and then lose to Georgia in the regular season finale, it should result in Georgia Tech falling below Tennessee in the rankings.

NC State over Miami: Miami was ranked seven spots ahead of the Vols last week. There’s no guarantee that a three-loss Miami would fall behind Tennessee. Miami’s win over Notre Dame could keep the Hurricanes above the Vols. An NC State win over Miami, however, would still be helpful to the Vols.

Iowa over USC: USC has two losses. A third loss would likely drop the Trojans behind Tennessee in the playoff rankings.

Baylor over Utah: Utah was 12 spots ahead of Tennessee in last week’s rankings. I don’t know if a third loss would drop the Utes behind the Vols, but this is clearly an outcome that Tennessee fans need to root for this weekend.

Georgia over Texas: This one is important. Tennessee needs the Longhorns to finish with four losses I don’t think a three-loss Tennessee is getting in over a three-loss Texas. The Longhorns have games remaining against Georgia, Arkansas, and Texas A&M. Four losses are a very real possibility for the Longhorns (and a must for the Vols’ playoff hopes).

TCU over BYU: The Big 12 getting two teams in would be a tough blow to the Vols’ playoff hopes. BYU has just one loss on the season. Would a two-loss BYU get in over Tennessee? We don’t know the answer to that just yet, but we do know that one-loss BYU is getting in over the Vols.

Florida over Ole Miss: Ole Miss needs to lose out for the Vols to have a chance to pass the Rebels. Ole Miss has just two games remaining — they also play Mississippi State — so the best the Vols can hope for is that both teams finish at 9-3. Would a three-loss Tennessee make it in over a three-loss Ole Miss? That’s tough to answer for now, but it’s certainly a possibility if the Vols beat Florida in the Swamp a week after the Gators beat the Rebels in Oxford.

By the way, a couple of teams weren’t mentioned here. Indiana, Ohio State, and Texas A&M, for example, are pretty much locked in at this point.

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