
The initial College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday, and as usual, a few fanbases came away upset. However, one long-struggling group of orange-clad supporters walked away ecstatic. The Tennessee Volunteers saw their name atop the heap, and in the history of the CFP, only one team ranked No. 1 in the debut poll didn’t make it to the playoff. (Dak Prescott’s Mississippi State Bulldogs being the odd program out in the first season of the now outdated format in 2014.)
Here’s the full 25.
This weekend’s Tennessee-Georgia matchup is monumental, and it’ll become even more crucial if Alabama can top No. 10 LSU in Baton Rouge. The winner will likely make it to the SEC title game unbeaten, and would be in the final four with a close loss to the Tide should they make it.
The loser’s path will become vastly more uncertain as it’ll need Nick Saban’s team to falter, and they’ve only missed out on the CFP once in its eight years of existence. The Bulldogs’ hopes of a repeat will be in serious jeopardy with the committee unimpressed by their wins outside of catching Oregon opening week.