Here’s how Tennessee can still make the college football game while losing the way to Georgia.
It’s a clash between the SEC Titans on Saturday, and it will be very difficult for a loser from Tennessee State, ranked No. 1 in Georgia, to make it into the College Football Playoff game.
The Vols may be the nation’s new No. 1 team, but they have to play on the road against Georgia’s No. 3 national title holders, a team that hasn’t lost a game in nearly a year.
Although Georgia is the favorite in this game, there is still a chance that the loser of this SEC East fight could make it to the college football playoffs. Now how does that work?
Here’s a look at what should happen for Tennessee to play four teams, despite the possibility of losing on the road to Georgia on Saturday afternoon.
How Tennessee Can Still Conduct College Football Game With Georgia Losing To Georgia
The best thing Tennessee can do to hold the playoff in the wake of Georgia’s defeat is to win the rest of its games. The Vols will be hugely preferred over fellow SEC East teams in Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. But even if they go 7-1 in the SEC game, Tennessee will need Georgia to lose its last two conference games in Mississippi and in Kentucky to win the SEC East title.
While these two games are harder than Tennessee’s last three games, this is the only way to get to Atlanta and play in the SEC Championship Game over Georgia. In all likelihood, the winner of that title match in Atlanta between East and West will go to the playoff. Of course, a two-loss SEC champion LSU would complicate things, but don’t count on it.
In short, Georgia can give up a Mississippi or Kentucky state game and still win the division to play on the supplement berth, as long as they beat Tennessee and then don’t lose to Georgia Tech in the non-conference. Again, these are tougher opponents than what Tennessee has left to contend with, but the Volunteers will need Dogs to bring them down to get to Atlanta.
As with Georgia, there is still a chance for the Fools to perform in the playoffs as the 11-1 (7-1) non-league champion. Tennessee will need undefeated Georgia to beat anyone out of SEC West between Alabama, Ole Miss, or even LSU. Georgia 13-0 really helps Tennessee’s entry chances. If the Dogs go down in Atlanta, that only complicates matters further, as they go in.
And even if that happens, Tennessee needs to see two Power Five champions worse than them. In all likelihood, it should be among the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 champions. Since every team in the Pac-12 has a loss in the year, it may be necessary to be one of them. As for the Big 12, the TCU is still undefeated, but that’s it. With the ACC, Clemson has not lost and UNC has lost once.
Of course, there’s another conference Vols fans need to watch out for regarding the team’s playoff chances should Tennessee lose to Georgia on Saturday. This will be the big ten. There is a possibility that the Big Ten could have two teams, especially if the winner is not defeated at Michigan at Ohio State and goes on to win the Big Ten, as well as being the losing team’s only defeat.
As with Georgia, a better outcome would be for Ohio State to be undefeated and win the Big Ten. This is because Michigan does not have a solid non-conference schedule. The Vols would be rewarded by playing Pitt in the non-conference, just as Georgia would have played in Oregon if they were in that position. Regardless, it would be easier if the Volunteers defeated the Dogs in Athens.
There is a chance that Tennessee will enter the loser once, but not the champion, but that will not be an easy path.
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