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Josh Heupel reacts to Tennessee's College Football Playoff ranking

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax12/07/24BarkleyTruax

Tennessee came in at No. 7 in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings following the final week of the regular season.

That means that if the season ended today, the Vols would be on the bubble when it comes to hosting a first-round matchup inside Neyland Stadium. However, it’s not guaranteed as their fate is in the hands of the teams playing for conference titles this weekend. Regardless, it appears as though Tennessee is well on its way in making its first-ever playoff appearance.

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Head coach Josh Heupel reacted to his team’s playoff ranking ahead of conference championship Saturday.

“Listen, we control what we control, right? We don’t have a game before the final rankings come out,” Heupel told reporters during national signing day. “There’s a lot of football to be played yet. But if you’re not of the mindset going into this thing, anyone, anywhere, anytime, then you’re just there to have a cup of coffee anyway. So, this is a highly-competitive group.

“We’ll play where we play. We’ll play who we play. Let’s go put the ball down.”

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After Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt during Week 14, Heupel said the playoff was the “next step” for the Vols as a program and that there’s an “expectation” on the staff that this is where Tennessee should be.

After all, Heupel led the Volunteers to their first double-digit win season since 2007 in 2022 and their first New Year’s Six Bowl since 2004. Thanks to Heupel’s influence and track record, many believed Tennessee would be contending for a playoff spot once the field was expanded to 12.

That mindset transferred onto the field this season as Tennessee finished the regular season 10-2 and 6-2 in SEC play — good for in the conference, coming in behind Georgia on the back of their head-to-head loss to the Bulldogs.

The vicotry aided in securing Tennessee’s current No. 7 ranking. Being that high up should put Heupel’s group in the clear to begin prep for a playoff run, but the major question over whether they’ll be playing at home or on the road in the first round remains to be seen.