ESPN insider Heather Dinich believes Georgia must win vs Tennessee after CFP rankings reveal

Tuesday’s release of the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season has created even more anticipation for Saturday’s SEC showdown between Georgia and Tennessee.

With both teams currently undefeated, the Volunteers claimed the No. 1 spot while the defending CFP champion Bulldogs came in at No. 3. ESPN’s Heather Dinich made an appearance on the network shortly after the rankings were revealed, where she argued that the initial rankings put much more pressure on Georgia to win Saturday.

“Georgia needs to win on Saturday more than Tennessee,” Dinich said. “And I say that because it is clear they are clinging to that win against Oregon. And if they don’t beat Tennessee, they’re going to have to obviously need to win out and they’re going to have to pray because nobody left on their schedule is ranked in the CFP’s Top 25 tonight.

“That win against Oregon was great, but they’ve got to do more. They’ve got to beat Tennessee to have a chance in my opinion.”

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Georgia handed the Ducks, who came in ranked No. 8 on Tuesday, a 49-3 loss in the season opener. Although that is certainly impressive, it alone likely wouldn’t be enough to get a one-loss Bulldogs team in the CFP.

If Georgia doesn’t win against Tennessee, it can be assumed they would also miss the SEC championship game. That would make the toughest game left on its schedule against either Kentucky or Mississippi State, both of whom are 5-3.

If Tennessee is to lose to Georgia, it would also see its College Football Playoff chances take a major hit. However, the Volunteers would also have two wins against teams currently in the top 10 — Alabama and LSU — to fall back on. Say one of those teams faces Georgia in the SEC championship and loses, then the Volunteers would still have a path to become the second SEC team in the Playoff.

Either way, it’s clear whichever team wins on Saturday will be the frontrunner. The Bulldogs and Volunteers are set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET in Athens.