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ESPN bumps Tennessee from College Football Playoff projection after OT win at Miss. State

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey11 hours agoGrantRamey
Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images | Tennessee wide receiver Mike Matthews (4) cheers before a college football game between Tennessee and Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., on Sept. 27, 2025.
Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images | Tennessee wide receiver Mike Matthews (4) cheers before a college football game between Tennessee and Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., on Sept. 27, 2025.

ESPN didn’t drop Tennessee from in its new projections for the top 12 teams for the College Football Playoff after the 41-34 overtime win Saturday at Mississippi State, but the Vols were booted from the predicted 12-team bracket.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich dropped Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) to No. 11 in the rankings, but her projected bracket had Texas Tech taking the Vols’ spot in the bracket as the projected Big 12 champion.

Memphis was the No. 12 seed as the projected American champ, taking place of Penn State, which was ranked No. 12.

Up Next: No. 15 Tennessee vs. Arkansas, October 11

Dinich’s top four seeds are now No. 1 Miami, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon and No. 4 Texas A&M. The first-round matchups are No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 11 Texas Tech at No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Florida State and No. 9 Georgia at No. 8 Alabama. 

“The loss to Georgia is keeping the Vols behind the Bulldogs,” Dinich wrote, “and they got a scare Saturday at Mississippi State before winning in overtime. The season-opening win against Syracuse doesn’t look as impressive after the Orange lost 38-3 to Duke. Unlike LSU, though, the Vols haven’t had any trouble finding points.”

Tennessee has scored 40 or more points in each of the first five games of the season for the first time in program history. But the Vols had to rally from a late touchdown deficit to win in overtime at Mississippi State, two weeks removed from a 44-41 overtime loss at home to Georgia. 

The season started with a 45-26 win over Syracuse in Atlanta, as well as a 72-17 win over ETSU and a 56-24 win over UAB. 

‘It’s possible the committee would have LSU ahead of Tennessee and Penn State’

Tennessee is now off until Arkansas (2-3, 0-1) comes to Neyland Stadium on October 11. The Vols then go to Alabama and Kentucky in back-to-back weeks, before closing the regular-season schedule with three home games over the final four weeks: Oklahoma, New Mexico State, at Florida and Vanderbilt.

Georgia lost 24-21 to Alabama Saturday night in Athens, with the Crimson Tide bouncing back from the loss to Florida State in Week 1 with three straight wins. 

LSU dropped its first game of the season on Saturday at Ole Miss. 

“It’s possible the committee would have LSU ahead of Tennessee and Penn State,” Dinich wrote.