Why Tennessee has made progress in the College Football Playoff race

The Tennessee-Kentucky football game didn't start until 7:45 p.m. at Neyland Stadium on Saturday. But the Vols didn't need to make a touchdown or a tackle to impact their College Football Playoff status.

What happens elsewhere has never been more important in college football. Numerous games every Saturday have increased in importance with the introduction of a 12-team playoff.

So what if the no. 7 Vols (7-1, 4-1 SEC) wouldn't dazzle anyone in a 28-18 win over Kentucky (3-6, 1-6), where more defensive starters were injured than healthy? the end of the game. At least the Vols won.

Texas A&M couldn't say that. A week after the Aggies beat LSU and seemed to have a glimpse of the CFP, they couldn't get out of the way in a terrible 44-20 loss to South Carolina. With two losses, the Aggies have no room for error in their playoff adventure.

You need to look beyond your conference when assessing your playoff chances. And the Vols had to like the view after the game.

Three previously undefeated teams – Penn State, Pittsburgh and Iowa State – all lost. The same was true for Clemson, which has looked like a potential playoff team since its second-half failure against Georgia in the season opener.

In the best case scenario for Tennessee – and the rest of the SEC – the ACC and Big 12 only qualify their league champions for the playoffs. BYU in the Big 12 and Miami in the ACC are the favorites to win those conferences.

It's a different story in the Big Ten. Unbeaten Indiana's surprise upset of Michigan State gives this conference four strong contenders, including unbeaten Oregon and once-beaten Ohio State and Penn State.

Two losses are considered the end point for the playoffs, meaning seven SEC teams still have a chance (I'm not counting Missouri). But in a tumultuous season, there are still so many meaningful games left and the potential for upsets is great.

That was evident when Texas A&M fell to South Carolina. However, that corresponds to the course of the season.

Check out the other SEC playoff contenders who lost to weaker conference teams. Alabama lost to Vanderbilt. Ole Miss lost to Kentucky. Tennessee lost to Arkansas.

As bad as the loss to the Razorbacks was for Tennessee, it didn't significantly affect UT's playoff chances.

And don't overlook the obvious. Tennessee has just one loss and, barring a road trip to Athens, Georgia, later this month, will be the favorite in the remaining games.

No matter how inept the Vols looked at times against Kentucky. Georgia was anything but dominant against Florida, which played with its third-string quarterback for much of the game and suffered a 34-20 loss.

The Bulldogs are struggling to put together a running game. They lack offensive playmakers, which has taken a toll on quarterback Carson Beck, who began the season as a Heisman Trophy hopeful. Beck threw three interceptions against Florida and had 12 turnovers in the last five games.

UT has lost seven straight games to the Bulldogs. None of those defeats came close.

But for the first time in a long time, Tennessee's defense is comparable to Georgia's. Additionally, it has a better running game.

That doesn't mean the Vols will win at Sanford Stadium. However, you may not have to win.

Even though UT's schedule is smaller than some other playoff contenders, there could be more surprises to come based on what we saw on Saturday. As a result, two-loss teams could easily become three-loss teams, which would be a good sign for the Vols.

It all comes down to getting to the postseason. How to get there is no big deal.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He can be reached at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

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