With the latest College Football Playoff Rankings, how do the dominos — Alabama dropping out of the Top 10, Florida and Auburn climbing the rankings — impact Tennessee’s bowl hopes?
Florida, at No. 9, is guaranteed to be in the New Year’s Six. The Gators will either play in the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl or Cotton Bowl, depending on what happens in the SEC Championship Game.
But the committee dropped the Tide seven spots Tuesday, meaning that Alabama, barring some dramatic change of heart in a week without playing another game, will not be position to make a New Year’s Six Bowl.
This complicates Tennessee’s bowl destination a bit now.
As a quick reminder, the bowl selection process happens as follows: The CFP rankings determine the playoffs and NY6 games. Then, the Citrus Bowl gets the No. 1 pick of any remaining SEC teams. They’re not going to pass up Alabama, potentially paring the Tide in a showdown with Michigan.
Once the Citrus Bowl makes its pick, the SEC, in conjunction with the bowls and schools, slots the remaining teams to the Outback, Gator, Music City, Belk, Texas and Liberty Bowls.
The Vols were never a true factor for the Citrus, but they hoped to play in Tampa in the Outback Bowl, with Auburn headed to Orlando. But the Tigers could now grab that spot with a season-ending win over Alabama and a fan base that historically travels quite well. A matchup against Penn State seems possible.
If a bunch of upsets happen on Championship Weekend, there’s an outside shot, albeit short, for Auburn to make a NY6 game.
Tennessee could still end up in Tampa, but it seems much less likely than it did over the weekend.
The Gator Bowl in Jacksonville remains the most realistic possibility, but if the Outback Bowl is off the table, suddenly the Music City Bowl could make an ardent case (especially with the financial impact) to keep the Vols at home for the holidays. Several new projections (CBS and SI) have the Vols in Nashville playing a team like Wake Forest.
The Gator Bowl hosted Kentucky and Texas A&M in recent years, which is why Tennessee and its fan base would be an attractive option. But Kentucky has proven it will travel down to Florida, too.
For now, it seems most likely that Tennessee plays a Big Ten team (like Indiana or Iowa) in Jacksonville. But it’s not cut and dried.
Tennessee’s administration is pushing hard for the Vols to spend New Year’s in Florida after a two-year bowl absence. The payout (north of $6 million for Outback, around $3 million for Gator) would be a boon for the department, too.
We’ll find out Sunday how it all shakes out.
Florida, at No. 9, is guaranteed to be in the New Year’s Six. The Gators will either play in the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl or Cotton Bowl, depending on what happens in the SEC Championship Game.
But the committee dropped the Tide seven spots Tuesday, meaning that Alabama, barring some dramatic change of heart in a week without playing another game, will not be position to make a New Year’s Six Bowl.
This complicates Tennessee’s bowl destination a bit now.
As a quick reminder, the bowl selection process happens as follows: The CFP rankings determine the playoffs and NY6 games. Then, the Citrus Bowl gets the No. 1 pick of any remaining SEC teams. They’re not going to pass up Alabama, potentially paring the Tide in a showdown with Michigan.
Once the Citrus Bowl makes its pick, the SEC, in conjunction with the bowls and schools, slots the remaining teams to the Outback, Gator, Music City, Belk, Texas and Liberty Bowls.
The Vols were never a true factor for the Citrus, but they hoped to play in Tampa in the Outback Bowl, with Auburn headed to Orlando. But the Tigers could now grab that spot with a season-ending win over Alabama and a fan base that historically travels quite well. A matchup against Penn State seems possible.
If a bunch of upsets happen on Championship Weekend, there’s an outside shot, albeit short, for Auburn to make a NY6 game.
Tennessee could still end up in Tampa, but it seems much less likely than it did over the weekend.
The Gator Bowl in Jacksonville remains the most realistic possibility, but if the Outback Bowl is off the table, suddenly the Music City Bowl could make an ardent case (especially with the financial impact) to keep the Vols at home for the holidays. Several new projections (CBS and SI) have the Vols in Nashville playing a team like Wake Forest.
The Gator Bowl hosted Kentucky and Texas A&M in recent years, which is why Tennessee and its fan base would be an attractive option. But Kentucky has proven it will travel down to Florida, too.
For now, it seems most likely that Tennessee plays a Big Ten team (like Indiana or Iowa) in Jacksonville. But it’s not cut and dried.
Tennessee’s administration is pushing hard for the Vols to spend New Year’s in Florida after a two-year bowl absence. The payout (north of $6 million for Outback, around $3 million for Gator) would be a boon for the department, too.
We’ll find out Sunday how it all shakes out.
