I certainly understand Tennessee fans’ frustration with the Vols’ latest playoff draw. Well, not really.
Yes, No. 7 Tennessee is most likely going to play at No. 6 Ohio State in the opening round of the inaugural, 12-team College Football Playoff despite the hope that the Vols would host a playoff game in Neyland Stadium.
Hold up. Breathe. Let’s keep things in perspective.
Tennessee was in a far different place at this time in 2021 before it knew where it would go bowling. The Vols were eventually selected to participate in the Music City Bowl against Purdue.
Talk about scintillating.
The Vols will now participate in a playoff in which they can win a national championship instead of a meaningless bowl game in Nashville. That’s quite the improvement.
Tennessee will now be a part of the most scintillating matchup in the first round of the playoff. Some might say Alabama at Notre Dame has even more national appeal, but let’s not quibble.
If things go as planned this weekend in the conference championship games and the College Football Playoff Committee doesn’t change its mind before the final selection show on Sunday, which could always happen, the Vols will take part in a game that will be a spectacle that can only help Tennessee’s program grow immensely for a couple of reasons.
First, the powers behind the Vols’ NIL initiative should only dig deeper into their pockets. Win or lose, the gamble on players and head coach Josh Heupel’s vision have paid off no matter what happens moving forward.
Second, there’s recruiting. Most every person – and high school prospect – that cares about college football will be watching the Vols and Buckeyes battle each other for the first time since the 1996 Citrus Bowl, in which the Vols beat the Buckeyes 20-14.
It’s kind of laughable to look back at that game, which many Tennessee fans cherish, now that there’s a championship tournament to play in. The Citrus Bowl had absolutely no real ramifications back then. Now, the Vols will play in an elimination game in which a win would send them to (most likely) play No. 1-seed Oregon in the second round if things go as planned. That’s pretty heavy stuff as opposed to taking on the Boilermakers.
There is still a chance for the Vols to host a playoff game, but it’s a long shot. The Vols would need a higher-ranked team to drop behind them after the conference championship games, which will be held this weekend. That’s not likely to happen, but let’s explore the scenarios.
Let’s say No. 2 Texas wallops No. 5 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. Well, the Bulldogs could drop behind the Vols despite beating Tennessee handily this season.
If this were a typical college football ranking, I could see that happening. However, the committee is more about setting up a scintillating postseason event than following typical ranking protocols, which would, indeed, drop the Bulldogs lower than the Vols in the rankings. That just doesn’t seem plausible even though it would likely be the case in the AP and Coaches’ Poll, which don’t really amount to a hill of beans anymore.
No. 1 Oregon could also hammer No. 3 Penn State and drop the Nittany Lions past the Vols. Again, that seems farfetched.
With the holiday season upon us, it’s important for Tennessee fans not to act like children who are disappointed if they don’t get exactly what they wanted on Christmas morning. No, things aren’t over, but the Vols are about to unwrap a pretty good prize when the College Football Playoffs begin on Dec. 20.
Be frustrated if you’d like, but I just can’t sympathize with those that aren’t celebrating a program that has gone from facing Purdue to playing for it all in just three short years. A home playoff game would be grand, but it’s not like the Vols just received a lump of coal.
