Tennessee football: Analyst clearly sees Vols as factor in 2022 CFB playoff

They may not make it into the College Football Playoff, but based on projections by Brad Crawford of 247Sports, Tennessee football will certainly have a say about who does make it in. Given where they have been in recent years, that’s a huge step forward.

Crawford explicitly listed the Vols as a team that could disrupt the playoff race in an article he wrote Monday morning. They joined the Miami Hurricanes, Penn State Nittany Lions, USC Trojans and Texas Longhorns on his list.

More shocking, though, is that he had an article later that same morning naming Tennessee football’s matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs as one of the 11 season-defining games, coming in at No. 10. Here’s a bit of his explanations in both articles.

"The SEC champion is undoubtedly getting to the final four, but a loss to the Volunteers during the regular season would affect seeding and could alter the path to a title for one of the league’s perceived titans. Much like Texas, for Tennessee to be “back” in 2022, it’s going to take a monumental victory against a title contender.…It took a Hail Mary at Sanford Stadium to beat Georgia during the 2016 season and that’s the last time Tennessee has been victorious in this heated SEC East rivalry series. This time around, the Volunteers will bring arguably their best team during this five-year stretch of futility back to Athens in a matchup that could decide the division or potentially knock the Bulldogs from their perch as one of the SEC’s preseason frontrunners after winning their first national championship since 1980 last fall. Both teams should be ranked the first weekend of November if the Volunteers can battle through a treacherous slate."

Setting a standard by saying the Vols need to beat a title contender is extremely high. In addition to UGA, Crawford was referring to the Alabama Crimson Tide, noting that the Vols need to win one of those games to prove they are back.

Maybe shooting for the stars is what’s needed for Tennessee football right now, but the truth is they could have a great comeback season without beating Georgia or Alabama. If they can somehow get to 10 wins, nobody will remember how, just that they are a program on the rise.

Now, given their schedule to start the season, it’s pretty clear that the Vols could have raised lots of eyebrows by the time they play either team. Heck, they could be undefeated when facing Alabama, and Alabama comes to Knoxville.

However, that could work against them, as Nick Saban and the Tide would then have a greater focus on winning that game. Meanwhile, the Georgia game is in Athens and takes place in November. Rocky Top just doesn’t have that much depth to be able to play that late into the year with a team like UGA.

Simply put, upsetting either of these teams would be a huge deal. What’s crazy, though, is Crawford noting the Georgia game as one to define the season. That means he’s suggesting CFP implications for both teams when they meet up.

Is that on the table? Well, going 10-2 is for the Vols, and that record would come with losses to Alabama and Georgia. Even in that scenario, though, UT would be 7-1 and in complete control of its own destiny to win the East. That could certainly make it a season-defining game.

No matter what, Tennessee football being considered a team that could have this much impact on the landscape of the sport is a huge step forward in Josh Heupel’s second season. We’ll know early on if they have the chance to do that given their schedule, but it’s certainly possible.