Analyzing the College Football Playoff chances for Missouri, Tennessee, Ole Miss in 2024
With the Southeastern Conference and College Football Playoff now both expanded, more teams in the SEC will now be in play for the postseason, and Andy Staples and Jesse Simonton broke down three teams on the fence of contender-ship in the latest On3 YouTube show.
Staples opened their segment discussing second-tier SEC teams asking whether Missouri and Tennessee are rightfully in the discussion to potentially make the playoff.
“Missouri and Tennessee, so those two are high-expectation, if they exceed expectations even slightly, we’re talking about playoff teams. Do you feel like they could do this?”
Simonton responded that yes, both schools fit that category alongside Ole Miss.
“They are in my cookie jar of very good but probably not great. I think that’s where I land on those teams. I have Ole Miss in that category as well,” he said, commenting on the Rebels’ roster.
“We’ll see. Lane has certainly assembled a hell of a two-deep there, what’s behind those guys TBD. But I would have all three of those SEC teams as: absolutely can see them making the dance, can’t see them winning it.”
Breaking down Tennessee’s CFP chances
Next, the two discussed Tennessee’s potential at length, with Staples providing a bit of a roster breakdown on the offensive side of the ball after he got to see the Volunteers in live action recently.
“Tennessee, saw them last week. Super deep on the defensive line, deeper in the secondary than we thought they were going to be, deeper at receiver than we probably thought they were going to be. They need some injury luck on the offensive line. They need to stay healthy on the offensive line to be as good as they can be. But I feel like that’s a team that can play with anybody if Nico is as good as we think he’s going to be.”
Simonton commented that he likes the talent around rising sophomore QB Nico Iamaleava and is willing to listen to the argument that Tennessee can make a run at the CFP.
“If you’re going to make the argument for the Vols, you’d say hey, if Nico’s transcendent and you have James Pearce on the other side, perhaps the best individual defensive player in the SEC in 2024, you know, is that the formula? Can you survive enough?”
Specifically, Simonton like the pass catchers around Iamaleava.
“You said the offensive line, I like that receiver room, you get Bru (McCoy) back, you get the nice transfer from Tulane (Chris Brazzell), Squirrel White, there are at least some elements if you want to make the case, I could hear it, and you could lay it out. Again, I’d have them in the cookie jar of very good but probably not great.”
With Tennessee and Missouri, even Ole Miss to an extent, Simonton just believes the ceiling of these teams rides on the development of their QBs.
“For a lot of these teams, frankly, you’re having to bet on what are you going to get from the QB position? Nico, the ability, the raw talent, is obviously there, but now we just have to actually see the production and the development on the field.”
It is worth noting that Tennessee will be starting its youngest quarterback yet under Josh Heupel. Hendon Hooker was 23 when he became the majority starter in Heupel’s first season back in 2021, and then was 24 during his magnificent 2022 season, before Joe Milton came in and started last year as a 23-year-old. Meanwhile, Iamaleava is currently 19 years old and will turn 20 at the start of the season, a whole three years younger than those other starters.
Per Staples and Simonton, much of Tennessee’s fate rides on his shoulders.