Vols. Now On Outside Of College Football Playoffs Based On New Bracket Projections As CFP Committee’s Reasoning Behind Tennessee’s New Ranking Makes Zero Sense All For Tennessee
Tennessee football has become the first team to fall out of the updated College Football Playoff rankings. While the Vols are currently ranked No. 11, under the new playoff format, they would be the No. 13 seed, meaning they would miss out on the 12-team national championship tournament. The key factor contributing to their drop in the rankings is their loss to Arkansas, which the CFP committee views as a major setback. Despite this, the loss shouldn’t be seen as as significant an issue as it has been made out to be.
Where did we get it wrong?
Arkansas is viewed as a significant victory for Texas, but a damaging defeat for Tennessee, highlighting the committee’s apparent double standard in how they evaluate different teams.
This inconsistency is evident in the defense offered by CFP chair and Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel for keeping Tennessee out of the playoff picture. Manuel explained, “They just had a loss to Georgia, and they had the loss at Arkansas. It’s really splitting hairs… the committee just had a hard time with four really good (SEC) teams… they have beat each other… it is close.” However, this reasoning doesn’t seem to justify the committee’s decision to exclude Tennessee, given the varying weight placed on similar outcomes.
How can we fix this?
As McKee points out in the second half of his post, it appears that Manuel and the committee place more value on Alabama’s wins than Tennessee’s, including Alabama’s recent victory over Mercer. This suggests that recency bias plays a significant role in the committee’s rankings. For Tennessee to secure a spot in the top 12, they will need to deliver strong performances in their final two games of the season.
Tennessee’s remaining opponents are UTEP and Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt, a notable win for both Texas and Alabama, represents a crucial opportunity for Tennessee to earn a key victory in the eyes of the committee. If the Vols can win these games decisively, there should be little doubt about their qualifications for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
