Bowl Projections: Where Tennessee is headed after the win over Alabama

Tennessee moved closer to the College Football Playoff bracket with the 24-17 win over Alabama Saturday night at Neyland Stadium. But not all the updated bowl projections are sold on the Vols quite yet.

On3’s Andy Staples has Tennessee as the No. 10 seed in his bracket, ESPN was split in its projections and Jerry Palm from CBS Sports still has the Vols on the outside looking in while Alabama remains his No. 8 seed in the playoff. 

Staples had Tennessee on the road at No. 7 Penn State, with Georgia, Oregon, Clemson and BYU as the top four seeds, respectively.

Up Next: No. 7 Tennessee vs. Kentucky, Saturday, November 2

Texas was the No. 5 seed, ahead of Ohio State, Penn State and Miami. Indiana was the No. 9 seed with Tennessee at No. 10, Notre Dame at No. 11 and Boise State at No. 12.

“The Nico Iamaleava from the Arkansas game, the Florida game and the first half of the Alabama game isn’t leading the Volunteers to the CFP,” Staples wrote. “But the guy who showed up in the second half against the Crimson Tide on Saturday absolutely can. 

“The Vols still have a visit to Georgia on the schedule, but they probably don’t have to win that one to make the field. They would have to win everything else, and their defense makes them capable of doing that.”

Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) is off this week before hosting Kentucky on November 2 at Neyland Stadium. Then its a Mississippi State home game before the trip to Georgia on November 16. The regular-season schedule closes with UTEP at home on November 23 and a road game at Vanderbilt on November 30.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach had Tennessee as a No. 8 seed in his College Football Playoff bracket, with the Vols hosting No. 9 Clemson in the first round. ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, though, had Tennessee in the Gator Bowl against Louisville. 

‘The committee could have a strong debate if the Vols finish as a two-loss team’

ESPN’s Heather Dinich ranked Tennessee No. 8 overall in her projected College Football Playoff Top 12 late Saturday night. 

“The committee could have a strong debate if the Vols finish as a two-loss team with a win against Alabama and loss at Georgia,” Dinich wrote. “They would have all beaten one another, but Tennessee would be a notch above Alabama because of the head-to-head win. 

“The question is more if Tennessee’s win against Bama would be enough to get into the playoff as a two-loss team. It would depend on how the Vols’ opponents fare, how Tennessee looks down the stretch — and how many other two-loss contenders are jockeying for those spots.”

Palm in the CBS Sports projections has Tennessee in the Gator Bowl against SMU while dropping Alabama to the No. 8 seed.

“I have said all along that Tennessee would have to beat either Alabama or Georgia to earn a CFP berth,” Palm wrote, “but with Texas A&M still in play, the Volunteers may very well have to beat Georgia when they travel to Athens on Nov. 16. We should have a better idea whether that is must-win for the Vols by then.”

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