Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker. Photo: Eakin Howard/Getty Images
Tennessee is well positioned to reach the college football playoffs for the first time after this season's debut rankings were unveiled Tuesday.
Driving the news: The Volunteers are ranked No. 1. Only the top four teams make the playoffs.
Why it matters: It's been two decades of mostly meh football from Tennessee, and the high playoff ranking crystalizes their chances to make this a special season.
- Since the college football playoff rankings debuted in 2014, Tennessee had never placed higher than 17.
- Next up is a road tilt against SEC rival Georgia, ranked No. 3.
Zoom out: With three teams ranked in the top 6, the SEC is poised to once again place multiple teams in the playoffs.
- The SEC is the only conference to ever have two teams in the playoffs, which happened in 2018 and 2022 when both Georgia and Alabama qualified. That means even a loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday wouldn't ruin UT's playoff chances.
- The rankings are updated weekly until the playoffs are announced on Dec. 4.
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