ESPN's Heather Dinich deems Oklahoma-Tennessee as elimination game, key for the SEC in the College Football Playoff

Rocky Top will see a Top 20 matchup on Saturday night with No. 18 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Tennessee likely being an elimination game for both teams as far as the College Football Playoff. However, it’s even more important than that as far as the SEC goes in the postseason, says ESPN’s Heather Dinich.

Dinich discussed the significance of this game between the Sooners and Volunteers while on ‘Get Up’ on Friday morning. She, first and foremost, noted that it would eliminate the loser as whichever team that is will naturally have a third loss, which we know will all but take a team out of consideration for an at-large berth in the CFP.

“Well, it’s basically an elimination game because the loser is going to have a third loss,” Dinich said. “And, historically speaking, those at-large bids are going to go to two-loss teams.”

Oklahoma and Tennessee will meet with essentially the same records to this point of the season on the first day of November. The Sooners are 6-2 (2-2) overall, having lost two of their last three to Texas in Red River and then last weekend to No. 8 Ole Miss, while the Vols are 6-2 (3-2) overall, with their two losses coming in overtime to No. 6 Georgia and on the road at No. 6 Alabama. Now, with two conference losses apiece already and four games to go for each starting tomorrow, winning out is likely their only respective way of making the playoff.

But, beyond those two teams, Dinich sees this as a very important matchup as far as the context of the SEC in the CFP. The Southeastern Conference is, at this moment, likely to have the most teams in the field, with Dinich’s latest projection including five teams from the league all being in with each in the Top 10 of the bracket. Even so, that fifth potential team is a bit more fluid, with this game taking one of those at-large options from this conference off the table.

“Bigger picture here, we’re talking about, is the SEC going to get four or five teams in? And, when you look at Oklahoma, you look at Tennessee, you look at Vanderbilt – who’s going to be that fifth team? Because, right now, you figure Texas A&M, Georgia, Alabama, (Ole Miss) are going to be a lock, right?” Dinich said. “Who’s that fifth team that could possibly join them?”

Neither Oklahoma nor Tennessee will be worried about the rest of the conference tomorrow night, though. That’s as one of their seasons will all but end after they take the field in Knoxville.