ESPN broadcast completely disrespects Tennessee during Mississippi State game

Tennessee football improves to 8-1 on the season with a 5-1 conference record after 11 weeks of the season. It's Tennessee's third straight season where they have won at least eight games, and the Vols are gearing up for a big-time matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs. 

If the Vols can beat Georgia, they will take a big step towards finishing the season 11-1 and 7-1 in conference play. The only other SEC game remaining on the schedule is against Vanderbilt. 

That would put Tennessee as one of the only two teams in the conference with one loss. Texas and Texas A&M are the other teams with one loss, but they will play in the last game of the season to determine who will go to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. 

Despite Tennessee's opportunity next week, the ESPN broadcast during the Mississippi State game completely disrespected Tennessee, giving them the fourth-highest odds to make the SEC Championship Game. 

Texas has the highest odds at 65%, but Alabama has the second-highest odds at 31%. LSU has a 29% chance to make the championship game, and Tennessee has a 26% chance. Those odds are based on ESPN Analytics, and its Alabama bias is unreal.

ESPN fully disrespected Tennessee with SEC title game graphic

LSU got smoked by Alabama, so Tennessee should theoretically have the second-best chance to earn a trip to Atlanta after Saturday night based on this model. I'm not sure how Alabama would have higher odds to make the SEC title game, given that Tennessee beat Alabama 24-17. 

Tennessee's trip to Athens next week could end this debate entirely. A win almost guarantees the Vols a trip to Atlanta, while a loss will likely put Tennessee at 10-2 on the year. Several other SEC teams—Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, and Texas or Texas A&M—finish with the same conference record. 

Suppose Tennessee is without Nico Iamaleava for any game moving forward. In that case, Tennessee's odds should drop, but it looks like Nico will return against Georgia after not playing in the second half against Mississippi State.

Josh Heupel answered Vols fans' questions in his post-game press conference and provided some positive news regarding Nico's absence in the second half against Mississippi State. 

If the Vols beat the Bulldogs in Athens this week, they can silence the haters and doubters. This will also keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive, with a half-dozen other SEC teams looking like they could finish the year with 10+ wins.