Tennessee football suffered a brutal and avoidable loss at South Carolina on Saturday evening, but the season isn’t over. The Vols now sit at 6-2 (3-2 SEC) with four games left to play. That means that if UT can win out, it’s very likely going to secure a spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Currently, Tennessee is projected to be on the outside looking in, though. In Andy Staples of On3’s updated CFP projection, he has the Vols as one of the first four out. UT joins Notre Dame, LSU and Alabama in this category.

The good news for Tennessee and its company is it already has a head-to-head win over the Tide and will play the Tigers later this year. If it comes down to the Vols and Alabama, UT has the trump card with the win in Neyland Stadium. It could also hand LSU its third loss later this year in what may be effectively an elimination game in about a month.

NEW: College Football Playoff Bracketology via @AndyStaples🏆

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— On3 (@On3) October 25, 2026

The projected bracket has Miami, Ohio State, Indiana and Georgia as the top-four seeds in that order. That quartet of teams would earn a bye into the quarterfinals.

The first round would see 8-seed BYU vs. 9-seed Northwestern, 7-seed Kentucky vs. 10-seed Florida, 6-seed Utah vs. 11-seed Texas and 5-seed UCLA vs. 12-seed New Mexico. The higher-seeded team would have a home-field advantage in that round.

We’ll get a much clearer look at what Tennessee’s actual positioning to make the 12-team event is in just over a week, though. The first official College Football Playoff rankings drop on November 3, just after the Vols’ upcoming bye week.