The Tennessee Volunteers continue to ascend as a program in 2024.  The Vols have moved from a team with hopes of just contending to make the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field to one with perhaps legitimate hopes of winning it.

That's not my take, but rather that of ESPN's Paul Finebaum, who talked about the Vols with Matt Barrie on Sunday during their recap of the weekend's action.  Finebaum referred to the Vols as a team who's a fringe championship contender now. 

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"What's so interesting, Matt, is that they didn't really play flawlessly," Finebaum said. "It was a little bit like the NC State game, which now we can't read anything into. They were sloppy at times, they turned the ball over, but they still really handled a blue-chip opponent with ease on the road.  And I think that was the one thing.  It's just been a disaster on the road in the past, and now they've gone on the road and proved they can win. 

"They now no longer look like a fringe playoff team. They look like a definite playoff team and maybe a fringe championship team."

The win over Oklahoma has the Vols in a better position to arrive to their matchup undefeated than one of their chief rivals – Alabama.  Finebaum now sees the Third Saturday in October as one that, for a very, very rare change, has more pressure on the Crimson Tide to win than the Vols when the two meet on October 19 in Knoxville. 

"Bama has to deal with Georgia this weekend, but they have to deal with Tennessee in about three weeks in Knoxville, and I always thought that was the most critical for Tennessee, but I'm not sure – I think that might be the most critical game for Alabama if they can't get by Georgia."

Finebaum isn't off base here.  The Crimson Tide have a titanic matchup on Saturday with the Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa.  That's just about a toss-up game at this point between two national heavyweights. 

If Alabama loses on Saturday, then a loss against Tennessee would very likely knock them out of the SEC title game picture and have them looking for an at large spot – where a third loss could keep them out of the playoff altogether. 

Meanwhile, Tennessee heads into its bye week to patch up before getting games at Arkansas and at home against a bad Florida team.  The Vols will surely be double digit favorites in both games, but they of course cannot take either team lightly.  Neither game is a slam dunk.  The Hogs have looked impressive this year in getting to 3-1 while Florida can beat Tennessee in any given year regardless of talent.  It's just that kind of rivalry for the Big Orange. 

However, if the results follow the lines and Tennessee does enter the Third Saturday in October undefeated, then the pressure indeed would be on Alabama to try to potentially save their season while the Vols looked to take a driver's seat to a playoff berth and potentially more.  

What a truly surreal turnaround that would be from the last decade and a half.  

Josh Heupel and Nico Iamaleava share a very cool moment in the final seconds of Tennessee’s win over Oklahoma

The Vols clearly knew what Saturday’s win over Oklahoma meant to their head coach