ESPN drops Tennessee in College Football Playoff projection after OT loss to Georgia
ESPN’s Heather Dinich dropped Tennessee three spots in her projected College Football Playoff top 12 Saturday night, following the 44-41 overtime loss to Georgia at Neyland Stadium.
“The Vols’ game was so close that Georgia coach Kirby Smart said afterward he almost felt like he should apologize,” Dinich wrote. “ … The (College Football Playoff) committee isn’t going to penalize the Vols for losing an overtime game at home to one of the SEC’s best teams, but it will wonder about allowing 44 points, 502 yards, and having 10 penalties and two turnovers.
“The committee will still respect the season-opening win against Syracuse, which has won each of its past two games against weaker opponents.”
Top four seeds: Ohio State, Miami, Georgia, LSU
Ohio State remained the No. 1 seed, ahead of No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 LSU. The top four seeds in the 12-team bracket receive a bye into the second round.
Texas A&M was the new No. 5 seed after its 41-40 win at Notre Dame Saturday night, Oregon was the No. 6 seed and Florida State was the No. 7 seed. Just head of Tennessee was No. 8 Penn State and No. 9 Oklahoma. Just behind the Vols were No. 11 Illinois and No. 12 Texas.
In her bracket projection, Dinich had South Florida as the No. 12 seed over Texas, as the American Conference champion, and Iowa State over Illinois as the No. 11 seed as the Big 12 champion.
The bracket had No. 10 Tennessee on the road at No. 7 Florida State in the first round, with the winner advancing to face No. 2 Miami.
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The Vols went to the first 12-team College Football Playoff last season, losing as the No. 9 seed at No. 8 Ohio State, with the Buckeyes on their way to winning the national championship.
Up Next: Tennessee vs. UAB
Tennessee (2-1, 0-1 SEC) hosts UAB on Saturday (12:45 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network) then goes to Mississippi State on September 27 in the first true road game of the season.
The Vols are off on October 4, before hosting Arkansas on October 11 and going to Alabama (October 18) and Kentucky (October 25) in back-to-back weeks.
The November schedule is Oklahoma (November 1) and New Mexico State (November 8) at home, a trip to Florida (November 22) and Senior Day at home against Vanderbilt (November 25) in the regular-season finale.
“The Vols still have a realistic path to the SEC championship,” Dinich wrote, “where they could meet Georgia again. Tennessee doesn’t play LSU or Texas. It can’t go 0-2 against Alabama and Oklahoma, but the Vols get the Sooners at home.”
