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ESPN's new College Football Playoff bracket has Tennessee at Alabama in first round

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey10/06/25GrantRamey
Dylan Sampson, Tennessee Football | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
(Randy Sartin-Imagn Images) Oct 19, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Dylan Sampson (6) runs for a touchdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Tennessee Football is back in ESPN’s projected College Football Playoff bracket coming off the bye week. Heather Dinich this week has the Vols both ranked and seeded 11th in her projected CFP Top 12 and 12-team bracket.

No. 11 Tennessee would visit No. 6 Alabama in the new ESPN projection, with the winner advancing to face No. 3 Oregon.

The current top two seeds for Dinich are No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Ohio State. Texas A&M is the No. 4 seed after its home win over Mississippi State Saturday night. 

The other first-round matchups are No. 12 Memphis, the projected American Conference champion, at No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 10 Texas Tech at No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Georgia.

Up Next: No. 12 Tennessee vs. Arkansas, Saturday, 4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Last week Dinich had Tennessee ranked No. 11 in her CFP Top 12, but had the Vols bumped out of the bracket by one of the projected conference champions.

“The Vols had a bye week,” Dinich wrote this week, “but the overtime road win at Mississippi State and the season-opening win against Syracuse are keeping them in contention right now. The 45-26 win against the Orange is better than some other contenders’ nonconference wins — and the committee will know it came against a healthy starting quarterback, Steve Angeli. 

“With Angeli out and injured, though, Syracuse has fallen to 3-3. The overtime loss to Georgia is hardly a ‘bad loss,’ but the Vols could use some true statement wins in the second half of the season to move into a safer spot.”

Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC), which moved up to No. 12 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll on Monday, host Arkansas (2-3, 0-1) on Saturday (4:15 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network). 

The Vols then go on the road for two straight weeks, going to Alabama on October 18 (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) and Kentucky on October 25.

Tennessee ‘wouldn’t be a lock’ for College Football Playoff at 10-2

“The Tide are getting better each week,” Dinich wrote, “but they will be coming home from a tough road trip to Mizzou. If Alabama loses that game, it will be under tremendous pressure against the Vols to avoid a third loss. If the Tide win, they will be bringing some major playoff momentum home.”

ESPN’s Football Power Index projects Tennessee to win all of its remaining games, aside from the trip to Alabama. 

“If that were to hold true, the Vols would have a strong case to return to the playoff at 10-2 but wouldn’t be a lock,” Dinich wrote. “What if Notre Dame finishes 10-2? They’d both have good losses, but the Vols might win the résumé battle. Eye test will matter, too.”