Tennessee is currently out of the College Football Playoff – here’s how the Vols can get back in

The loss at Georgia turned out to be costly for Tennessee as it slipped out of the College Football Playoff, but all is far from lost for the Vols – here’s how they can get back in the 12-team bracket.

The SEC showdown between Tennessee and Georgia last week was billed as a de facto College Football Playoff game, and so far that looks to be the case. The Bulldogs broke a halftime tie with a couple of touchdowns in the second half of a 31-17 win against the Vols, and the result moved Georgia back into the 12-team field at the expense of Tennessee, which is now the first team out – the same spot as Georgia a week ago. Using NCAA tournament terms, Tennessee is on the bubble, a precarious spot to be in with just two weeks of the regular season, but all is far from lost for the Vols, who have multiple paths back into a Playoff spot.

The bad news for Tennessee is its destiny is out of its control. While some teams behind them such as Boise State, BYU, SMU and even SEC rival Texas A&M can play their way into the field via winning their conference championships, the losses at Arkansas and Georgia have left the Vols needing someone else to do their work for them. Fair or not, the hard-fought loss in Athens got Tennessee moved to the back of the line of a cluster of very comparable two-loss SEC teams.

But the good news Tennessee doesn’t need a combination of several things to move back into the Playoff bracket. There are several paths back in. The Vols and their fans will spend the next couple of weeks hoping to get the break they need.