Nov 2, 2022 - Sports

Vols hit No. 1 in playoff rankings

Nate Rau

Player at a football game. — 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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Vols hit No. 1 in playoff rankings

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