Tennessee opens as a road favorite for Saturday’s game at Texas A&M. This rare spot for the Volunteers comes after a 34-6 win over Kentucky on Saturday night. The victory pushed the team back into the national conversation just days before the next rankings drop.
Andy Staples, an On3 college football analyst, updated his playoff projections on Sunday. In his latest College Football Playoff rankings and bracket projection, he ranked Tennessee as the No. 4 team. Staples believes the committee made a mistake by ranking Alabama higher last week. “Tennessee should not have been eight spots below Alabama in last week’s CFP ranking,” Staples wrote on Sunday. He argues that the selection process has a flaw when it treats the two teams as if they are in different pods.
Three weeks prior, the Volunteers defeated the Crimson Tide 26-10 at Neyland Stadium. Even with that head-to-head win, Alabama remained at No. 5 while Tennessee stayed at No. 13 in the initial rankings. Staples says he would accept Alabama being above Tennessee if the gap between them was small. “I won’t be too bent out of shape if the committee has Alabama above Tennessee as long as the Volunteers are closer to the Crimson Tide,” Staples wrote. He notes that Texas has a head-to-head win against the Vols, yet he still ranks Tennessee higher. “I rank Tennessee and Alabama above the Longhorns because the Vols and Crimson Tide have as good a collection of wins and don’t have two terrible losses.”
The Shift in Power
Heather Dinich of ESPN also moved the Volunteers back into her bracket on Sunday. She slotted the Vols in at No. 9 in her College Football Playoff projection. Dinich explained the jump was driven by losses from other top teams. “The Vols moved up because Ole Miss and Ohio State suffered third losses,” Dinich wrote, “but also because of Saturday’s statement win against Kentucky and the Oct. 17 win against Alabama.”
The committee chair, Hunter Yurachek, has stated that head-to-head results do not matter if the teams are not in the same comparison group. This stance means the Vols must keep winning to climb higher, regardless of their past win over Alabama.
A Tough Test in College Station
The focus now shifts to a difficult road trip to College Station. Texas A&M is a tough opponent, and the location makes the game harder. Rocky Top Talk noted that the trip is more worrisome than the Kentucky game was. The Aggies host the game in a stadium that is not an easy place for visitors to play.
Tennessee needs to prove it can win on the road against a strong defense. The Volunteers hope their defense can outduel Marcel Reed and the A&M offense. If the team can win there, they set up a potential matchup with LSU and Lane Kiffin at home later. On Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, the selection committee will release the next rankings.
