Why Lincoln Riley can save Tennessee football season for CFP bracket

Posted by Admin November 21, 2024 Football

Tennessee needs help. The Vols (8-2) surrendered autonomous control of their quest for the College Football Playoff after losing at Georgia, Tennessee’s second loss.

And while Tennessee retains multiple avenues to receive an assist into the playoff, the most interesting one might be this: Lincoln Riley and his USC Trojans getting off the mat to beat Notre Dame in the regular-season finale, thereby spoiling the Irish’s playoff hopes.

On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams take stock of Tennessee’s playoff chances.

They also debate whether Texas should be a CFP qualifier if it suffers a second loss, and they consider whether Alabama should really want to play in the SEC championship game.

What’s the best chance for Tennessee to make the CFP?

Toppmeyer: Several avenues exist, but Southern Cal upsetting Notre Dame at the Coliseum in the regular-season finale projects as the most probable path. USC bungled its season by losing repeatedly on the road, but the Trojans are 4-1 at the Coliseum, and Notre Dame will have played just two true road games at that point. Plus, USC triggered a quarterback change to Jayden Maiava, and he engineered a win against Nebraska. Notre Dame would be favored in this matchup, but it’s hardly a slam dunk for the Irish.

Adams: Ditto. USC beating Notre Dame is the likeliest route for Tennessee to receive the required help to grab an at-large CFP bid at 10-2. The Trojans experienced a lot of issues this year. A lack of talent wasn’t one of them. Maybe, this quarterback change will result in USC picking up steam. In any case, Notre Dame losing at USC seems more realistic than Ole Miss losing at Florida or Penn State dropping a game against a middling opponent or even Indiana getting blown out by Ohio State.

Later in the episode

∎ A temperature check on Brian Kelly and LSU.

Week 13 picks!

Picks against the spread:

Ole Miss (-10) at Florida

Toppmeyer: Ole Miss; Adams: Ole Miss

Kentucky at Texas (-20.5)

Toppmeyer: Texas; Adams: Texas

Alabama (13.5) at Oklahoma

Toppmeyer: Alabama; Adams: Alabama

Texas A&M (-2.5) at Auburn

Toppmeyer: Auburn; Adams: Texas A&M

Vanderbilt at LSU (-7.5)

Toppmeyer: LSU; Adams: LSU

Lock of the week

Toppmeyer: UNLV (-7) at San Jose State; Adams: Akron (-10) at Kent State

Records

Toppmeyer 34-34 (0-5); Adams 34-34 (1-4)

Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.