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Tennessee football rooting guide for 2021 Conference Championship games

By Caleb Calhoun

Smokey runs on the field during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Kns Tennessee Kentucky Football
Smokey runs on the field during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Kns Tennessee Kentucky Football /
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Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell runs onto the field before the first quarter of the NCAA American Athletic Conference game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane ay Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019.Tulsa Golden Hurricane At Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell runs onto the field before the first quarter of the NCAA American Athletic Conference game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane ay Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019.Tulsa Golden Hurricane At Cincinnati Bearcats /

2. AAC Championship

Cincinnati Bearcats over Houston Cougars

In this case, you’re looking at very real bowl positioning and top 25 finishes. At 12-0 and ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff, No. 3 in the AP Poll and No. 4 in the Coaches Poll, the Cincinnati Bearcats right now are the automatic Group of Five bid in the New Years Six. However, if they lose to the Houston Cougars, they could still get in as an at-large.

Two Group of Five teams in could be disastrous for the SEC, as it’s trying to get at least three teams in. Tennessee football would then fall down the pecking order of the non-New Years Six bowls extending invitations to schools from the league.

Beyond that fact, though, Houston is a team the Vols could leapfrog in the top 25. At 11-1, they are No. 21 in the CFP Rankings and No. 16 in the AP and Coaches Polls. A loss in this game, if it’s significant enough, would at least knock them out of the top 25 while they are receiving votes ahead of the Vols.

Then, though, UT could leapfrog them if they lose their bowl game. It’s still the American Athletic Conference, so an 11-3 team from there that lost its final two games could easily fall behind an 8-5 SEC team. As a result, Vol fans should root hardcore for Cincinnati.

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