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Saturday’s road matchup against Georgia is a College Football Playoff elimination game for Tennessee football, according to SEC Network analyst Matt Stinchcomb.
It’s also an elimination game for the No. 3 Bulldogs (7-2, 5-2 SEC), who have two losses; the Vols have just one. But Stinchcomb believes No. 7 Tennessee (8-1, 5-1) has to leave Athens with a win to keep its CFP hopes solidly alive based off the first CFP Top 25 rankings and the way the SEC has played out.
“Depending on what scenario unfolds within this conference, there is almost zero margin for error for the University of Tennessee Volunteers,” Stinchcomb said Monday at the Knoxville Quarterback Club.
If the Vols lose Saturday, they still have a chance to make the CFP and SEC title game, though the latter is unlikely. If Tennessee finishes 10-2 and is fighting for one of the seven at-large spots, it has a decent chance at making the CFP.
But Stinchcomb believes the odds aren’t in the Vols’ favor because of how the CFP selection committee ranked the Big Ten in its first set of rankings.
Before those rankings came out, Stinchcomb would have thought the Vols could suffer a second loss and be safe. But with how high Penn State (No. 6) and Indiana (No. 8) were ranked, he’s not sure anymore.
“Penn State will likely finish the season at 11-1. Who have they beat?” Stinchcomb said. “Nobody. Nobody, but the committee loves the Big Ten. And because of that, it’s not the other SEC teams that would crowd a Tennessee, potentially, out as a two-loss team. It’s this Big Ten that makes it super crowded.”
There are four Big Ten teams in the top eight of the initial CFP Top 25 ranking, which was released last week, with Oregon and Ohio State at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. That gives the ranked Big Ten teams “a lot of room for error,” Stinchcomb said, especially with Oregon…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-sec-analyst-matt-stinchcomb-233126318.html
Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Publish date : 2024-11-11 23:31:26
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