Tennessee Football had the second-biggest increase in its odds to make the College Football Playoff in September, according to ESPN’s Playoff Predictor. The Vols went from a 36.4% chance at the first of the month to a 79.0% chance at the end, going up 42.6%. 

Only Miami, at 43.9%, had a bigger increase. Behind the Vols on the list were Indiana (+39.0%), Alabama (+33.9%), UNLV (+29.5%), Texas (+23.2%), BYU (+23.0%), Boise State (+22.5%), Ole Miss (+20.7%) and Iowa State (+20.4%). 

No. 4 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) was off last week and now goes to Arkansas (3-2, 1-1) for Saturday night’s 7:30 Eastern Time start (TV: ABC) at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

ESPN: Tennessee currently has fourth-best odds to make College Football Playoff

The ESPN Playoff Predictor has the Vols with the fourth-best odds to make the playoffs. Texas and Alabama are tied at the top at 91.0% and Ohio State is at 85%. 

Tennessee was ranked No. 3 in ESPN’s updated power rankings this week. 

“While Georgia and Alabama were playing one of the wildest games of the season,” ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote, “Ole Miss was falling to Kentucky and Texas was working a little harder than expected to get past Mississippi State, Tennessee was kicked back on a bye week, basking in the glow of a 4-0 start and a 216-28 scoring margin.”

Alabama led Georgia 28-0 only to see the Bulldogs rally to take a 34-33 lead late in the game. The Crimson Tide had the final answer with a long touchdown pass to Ryan Williams in the 41-33 win. 

Ole Miss, ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 last week, lost 20-17 at home against an unranked Kentucky team. Texas beat a one-win Mississippi State team 35-13 at home, dropping from No. 1 to No. 2 in ESPN’s power rankings, with Alabama moving to the top.

Vols return home next week for four straight games at Neyland Stadium

After the trip to Arkansas, Tennessee returns home for four straight games over five weeks, hosting Florida (October 12), Alabama (October 19), Kentucky (November 2), Mississippi State (November 9) before going to Georgia on November 16. 

The regular-season closes with a home date with UTEP on November 23 and a trip to Vanderbilt on November 30.

“The Vols have been mostly untested,” Connelly wrote, “and they’ll be comfortably favored in their next couple of games — a road test at Arkansas and a visit from Florida in Knoxville — before a third Saturday in October visit from Alabama. 

“The Tennessee defense has given up the fewest points and yards per drive in FBS, and the offense has rediscovered its explosiveness. But the tests resume soon enough.” 

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