It is pretty darn wild how things can change so quickly. Earlier in the week, it was looking like the Tennessee Volunteers were about to be on the outside looking in for the 2024 College Football Playoff. Despite being ranked No. 11, the Vols were projected to be the first team out.
However, the Florida Gators did Josh Heupel a massive favor, taking down Ole Miss in a thriller. With that loss alone, and Tennessee dominating UTEP, it wiped away any talk of this team being kept out of the first round of the CFP.
Well, more things went well for Tennessee. Alabama suffered a stunning loss to Oklahoma. On top of that, Indiana got owned by Ohio State. The Vols, hopefully, will jump ALL three teams for the new rankings next Tuesday night. Should they land at No. 7 or No. 8, then a first-round CFP game at Neyland Stadium would be on the table. Yeah, we'd love to see that.
Texas A&M is out.
— Reed Carringer (@ReedCarringer) November 24, 2024
Ole Miss is out.
Alabama is out.
BYU is out.
Colorado is out.
Indiana should be out.
A home playoff game in Neyland should be on deck if the Vols take care of business next week.
Tennessee must take care of business against Vanderbilt in the season finale
With Tennessee at 9-2 on the year following the 56-0 win over UTEP, they have one foot in the door for the CFP. However, let's keep in mind that there's still one more massive game on the schedule for Heupel and his crew.
That'd be the season finale against Vanderbilt, a road game in Nashville. Postseason hopes are on the line in this one. With a win, the Vols will be in. With a loss, they'll fall to 9-3 on the season and they'll be out, it's that simple for them.
Heupel knows the pressure is on this team, but he made it more than clear after the win over UTEP that his guys are focused on the task at hand. Throughout the week, Tennessee will be business as usual and the players won't let outside factors shift their focus.
Fans can dream about one more home game at Neyland Stadium, which really would be awesome to see. Maybe the seniors will end up getting one more game in front of the home fans after all.