Tennessee is in prime position to host a College Football Playoff game

Tennessee earned its tenth win of the season on Saturday with a dominant 36-23 win over Vanderbilt. The final score doesn't indicate a dominant Vols victory, but it was all Tennessee after the game's first five minutes. 

Tennessee looked like a national championship contender for 95% of the game against a team that beat Alabama and took Texas down to the final whistle. 

As a result, the Vols moved up two spots in the AP Poll and AFCA Coaches Poll to No. 6 in the country. If the trend continues with the College Football Playoff ranking, the Vols should move up two spots after Miami and Ohio State's loss.

The Buckeyes' loss to Michigan is one of the worst among teams considered national championship contenders. Notre Dame's loss to NIU is far and away the worst of CFP contenders, but Ohio State's loss should nearly drop them out of the top 12 based on the precedent set by the committee after Georgia's loss to Ole Miss a few weeks ago. 

Georgia was No. 3 in the country for that game and dropped to No. 12 after losing to a respectable Ole Miss team. The committee could drop OSU just as far after suffering a far worse loss at home. 

As a result, the Vols should be set up to host a game in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Two scenarios are most likely for Tennessee. The Vols will likely either be the No. 8 seed and host a Playoff game, or Ohio State won't be punished for losing to Michigan, and the Vols will stay as the No. 9 seed. 

Tennessee is currently being projected to move up one spot and be the No. 8 seed to host Ohio State or Indiana. However, it is also possible that Ohio State drops to the No. 8 seed, Tennessee stays at No. 9, and the Vols have to go to Columbus in round one. 

The Vols likely won't move up any higher unless there is chaos in some conference championships. Miami drops out with the current playoff format, but the ACC keeps their automatic bid, so the loss of the Hurricanes doesn't necessarily help Tennessee. 

Unless Georgia, Texas, or Penn State are blown out in their conference championship game, they likely won't lose their opportunity to host in the first round. Notre Dame is the other projected host for the first round, and their season is over until the start of the CFP. 

Don't expect the Vols to move up too many spots in this week's College Football Playoff rankings, but even moving up a couple of spots to No. 6 could mean Tennessee will play a home CFP game soon.