Latest College Football Playoff ranking predictions: Tennessee faces must-win game at Vanderbilt

Posted by Admin November 26, 2024 Football

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Tennessee Vols football needs to win at Vanderbilt on Saturday to make the College Football Playoff.

It is that simple for the Vols, who should return inside the top eight of the rankings during Tuesday’s latest rankings reveal.

Tennessee will jump Alabama and Ole Miss, and could jump Indiana too after the Hoosiers’ first loss of the season. But Saturday’s game in Nashville is what matters most.

Here’s how we project the newest CFP rankings ahead of Tuesday’s reveal:

Our CFP projection, based off of the previous week’s rankings:

Oregon
Ohio State
Texas
Penn State
Notre Dame
Miami (Fla.)
Georgia
Tennessee
Indiana
Boise State
SMU
Alabama
Clemson
South Carolina
Arizona State
Ole Miss
Tulane
Iowa State
Texas A&M
Missouri
Illinois
Colorado
BYU
UNLV
Louisville

Some notes:

Just win. It really is that easy.
Currently, Knox News’ CFP projection sets up a Tennessee-Georgia first round rematch. The Vols offense under Josh Heupel has been hamstrung by Kirby Smart’s defensive game plan for years now. The result will only change if that dynamic changes.
Outside of being the No. 12 seed traveling to Ohio State, a trip to Georgia appears to be the worst-case scenario for an at-large.
For the Vols to host, it likely needs a Notre Dame loss at USC or a Georgia loss to Georgia Tech. (Plus a Vols win at Vanderbilt. Don’t forget that!)
IF Tennessee loses, it likely still has a chance to make the playoff. But Vols fans would then resort to rooting for Purdue against Indiana or Cal against SMU for a CFP chance.

CFP projected seeds

No. 1 seed Oregon (Big Ten champion)
No. 2 seed Texas (SEC champion)
No. 3 seed Miami (Fla.) (ACC champion)
No. 4 seed Boise State (Mountain West champion)
No. 5 seed Ohio State
No. 6 seed Penn State
No. 7 seed Notre Dame
No. 8 seed Georgia
No. 9 seed Tennessee
No. 10 seed Indiana
No. 11 seed SMU
No. 12 seed Arizona State (fifth-ranked conference champion)

First teams out:

CFP first-round projections

No. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Ohio State
No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State
No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame
No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Georgia

CFP quarterfinal projections

No. 1 Oregon vs. Tennessee/Georgia
No. 2 Texas vs. Indiana/Notre Dame
No. 3 Miami (Fla.) vs. SMU/Penn State
No. 4 Boise State vs. Ohio State/Arizona State

The next batch of CFP rankings will be revealed on Nov. 26, with rankings coming out each Tuesday until the final rankings come out on Sunday, Dec. 8.

CFP rankings reveals

Nov. 5
Nov. 12
Nov. 19
Nov. 26
Dec. 3
Dec. 8

Tuesday’s CFP rankings reveal is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Time: 7 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Nov. 26
TV channel: ESPN
Live stream: FUBO (free trial), ESPN app

The College Football Playoff rankings reveal takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 26 on ESPN, with Rece Davis leading the coverage. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

This is the first year of the 12-team format for the CFP, with four first-round and four quarterfinal games added to the CFP slate. The top four ranked conference champions will earn a top-four seed, and the fifth-ranked conference champion will also be locked into the field.

The top four ranked conference champions will get a first-round bye, while those seeded Nos. 5-8 will host first-round games in December. The seeds will be laid out via their final CFP rankings when those are revealed Dec. 8.

A tip: It’s possible, if not probable, that the top four seeds won’t resemble the same order as the final CFP rankings. For example, if Penn State is ranked No. 3 in the final rankings but does not win the Big Ten, it can be seeded no higher than fifth.

The top four seeds don’t necessarily have to be made up of the “Power 4” conference champions if another conference’s team is ranked ahead. In theory, the Big 12 champion could miss out entirely if it is ranked outside the top 12 and is behind five other conference champions.

The formal bracket will look like this:

CFP first round

Dec. 20 or 21

No. 9 seed at No. 8 seed, time TBD
No. 12 seed at No. 5 seed, time TBD
No. 10 seed at No. 7 seed, time TBD
No. 11 seed at No. 6 seed, time TBD

CFP quarterfinals

Dec. 31 or Jan. 1, 2025

No. 1 seed (highest-ranked conference champion) vs. No. 8/No. 9 winner, site and time TBD
No. 4 seed (fourth highest-ranked conference champion) vs. No. 5/No. 12 winner, site and time TBD
No. 2 seed (second highest-ranked conference champion) vs. No. 7/No. 10 winner, site and time TBD
No. 3 seed (third highest-ranked conference champion) vs. No. 6/No. 11 winner, site and time TBD

CFP semifinals

Jan. 9 or 10, 2025

No. 1 seed-8/9 winner vs. No. 4 seed-5/12 winner, site and time TBD
No. 2 seed-7/10 winner vs. No. 3 seed-6/11 winner, site and time TBD

CFP national championship

Jan. 20, 2025

Semifinal No. 1 winner vs. Semifinal No. 2 winner in Atlanta

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