3 paths for Tennessee to still make the College Football Playoff

There is still a chance for the Tennessee Volunteers to make the College Football Playoff.

Despite losing badly on the road to Georgia, there is still hope for the Tennessee Volunteers on getting into the College Football Playoff this year.

The Vols dropped down from No. 1 all the way to No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. While most teams lose to Georgia these days, it still does not change the fact that this loss stings for the Rocky Top faithful. The good news for Tennessee fans is the Vols have not been been eliminated from playoff contention. The bad news is they do not control their own destiny…

Here are a few scenarios in which the Vols can make the four-team field for the first time ever!

How Tennessee can make College Football Playoff as non-division champion

At 8-1 (4-1) with three SEC games left, this is the likeliest pathway for Vols playoff inclusion. First things first, Tennessee needs to win its final three regular-season games over Missouri, at South Carolina and at Vanderbilt to have any chance of getting in. From there, the Vols need Georgia to win out, the Big Ten to only have one real candidate and two undeserving Power Five champions.

Georgia winning the SEC at 13-0 and the winner of Michigan at Ohio State doing the same over in the Big Ten serves Tennessee here. We all know the Big Ten and the SEC are getting at least one team in one anyway. After that, Tennessee needs to have a better resume over two of the three other Power Five champions in the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 with the first two being the most likely.

Although TCU is the only other undefeated team left in the country, keep in mind that Clemson, North Carolina and Oregon’s only losses on the season were in the non-conference. Oregon fell to Georgia badly over Labor Day Weekend, while Clemson and North Carolina have lost to Notre Dame on separate occasions. USC, UCLA and even Utah are still alive for it over in the Pac-12…

Overall, Tennessee should be rooting for TCU to drop a Big 12 game and for the ACC to remain rather bland down the stretch. The Vols might carry the gravitas over an ACC or Big 12 champion in that scenario, but maybe not the Pac-12. Regardless, Tennessee needs to look undeniably better over two of those three Power Five champions. Style points matter a ton in this scenario.

And the last little caveat is what to do about the loser of The Game between Michigan and Ohio State. That unfortunate team may fall into the same bucket as Tennessee as a one-loss, non-division champion. Either the Buckeyes or Wolverines are not going to have that 13th data point either, so once again, style points matter a ton. Tennessee also needs to root for Ohio State here…

The reason for this is the Wolverines have an incredibly weak non-conference slate. Tennessee will be rewarded for beating Pitt on the road, whereas the Wolverines will be docked for playing Colorado State, Hawaii and UConn. As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes will be rewarded for hosting Notre Dame in the non-conference. Tennessee will edge out Michigan, but maybe not Ohio State.

Tennessee has a strong resume, but not division or SEC championships will hurt them in the end.