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Tennessee football: Who is the biggest threat to Vols’ playoff chances?

By Blake Wyman

Teammates congratulate Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright (20) after his touchdown during Tennessee's game against Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.Kns Vols Georgia Bp
Teammates congratulate Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright (20) after his touchdown during Tennessee's game against Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.Kns Vols Georgia Bp /
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Despite its first loss last weekend, Tennessee football has been blazing hot all season and currently sits only one spot away from making it into the College Football Playoff.  With still three more games remaining, the Vols, who are 8-1 and 4-1 in the SEC, are going to be looking to make one final push to secure their spot on New Year’s Eve.

By winning out the rest of the regular season, the Vols can still somewhat control their own destiny. However, Vol fans need to keep their eyes open on one quiet team, that may slide in front of them without anyone noticing. That team is the Oregon Ducks, who sit at 8-1 on the season. The Ducks also have just one lone loss, and like UT, it’s against the Georgia Bulldogs.

At No. 6 on the College Playoff Rankings, Oregon will be put to the test for the remainder of the season. They likely will take on three more ranked teams: the No. 24 ranked Washington Huskies, the No. 13 ranked Utah Utes and probably the No. 8 ranked USC Trojans in the Pac-12 Championship, although that could be the No. 12 ranked UCLA Bruins.

If the Ducks can win out the rest of the season and secure the Pac-12 Championship, will that be enough to jump the Vols? Unlike Oregon, Tennessee football has no ranked opponents left on their schedule, and it would take a miracle to get into the SEC Championship game.

With this in mind, the question arises if the Vols had enough high-quality wins earlier in the season, to set them apart from a possible Pac-12 champion Oregon. Rocky Top may need to hope for a little help from some other teams to secure their spot in the CFB Playoff.

All in all, the Vols were ranked No. 1 just last week, and nobody will have see any problems with them making it in the playoff as long as they take care of business over these next three weeks. That should obviously happen given their slate.

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Although they dropped a few spots after the loss to Georgia, the College Football Playoff committee sees this Tennessee football team as one of the best, if not the best, teams in the nation. It seems like a safe bet that no matter what happens around the nation, the Vols should be able to find their way into the playoff if they win out.

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