Tennessee declared the "SEC's best hope" at winning a national championship

Tennessee is one of three teams out of the Southeastern Conference heading to the College Football Playoff this year. The Vols have a date with Ohio State in Columbus in the first round of the 12-team Playoff with an opportunity to play Oregon in the Rose Bowl as a reward for the winner. 

It's the hardest road to the national championship of teams going on the road, or possibly any team in the CFP this season, but that doesn't mean Tennessee doesn't have a chance to win it all. 

CBS Sports' Dan Wolken even said Tennessee could be the SEC's best chance at bringing another national championship to the conference.

This comes after the SEC Championship was decided in overtime, with Georgia beating Texas 22-19. Both teams struggled to find the endzone all game. 

Neither Georgia nor Texas looked like potential national champions on Saturday night, which prompted Wolken to say that the Vols could be the best team in the field from the SEC. 

Texas has an increasingly easier road than Tennessee. The Longhorns host Clemson in the first round and will play Arizona State in the quarterfinals. Would they play in the Fiesta Bowl to benefit the Sun Devils? No, Texas will make another trip to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. 

That means Texas should theoretically have a pretty easy road to the title game, or at least the semifinals, where they would play the winner of Oregon and Tennessee/Ohio State. 

With Arizona State's recent performance, it's hard to argue that the current version of Texas is guaranteed to make it to the semifinals. If the Longhorns choose to live by Quinn Ewers, they could very well die by Ewers before they have the chance to take home a trophy. 

Georgia is the only SEC team to receive a bye in the first round. The Bulldogs will play the winner of Indiana and Notre Dame. Georgia should easily win that game, but it could depend on quarterback Carson Beck's health. If he's out, it could cost the Bulldogs a chance at winning another national championship. 

Tennessee has the hardest road, but the Vols looked the best in its last game compared to the other two teams in the CFP. Georgia and Texas's offense looked lifeless, while we last saw Tennessee dominate the team that eliminated Alabama from the CFP and took Texas down to the wire.