
ESPN’s way-too-early CFB playoff bracket projection from Bill Connelly on Monday does not list the Tennessee Volunteers.
Tennessee appeared in the expanded 12-team playoffs last season for the first time in program history but didn’t make it out of the first round with a loss to Ohio State.
While Tennessee does return a solid roster heading into the 2025 season, Connelly isn’t forecasting the Vols to land one of the coveted 12 spots next season.
Connelly’s projection doesn’t mention anything about Tennessee, which is unsurprising given the Vols’ lack of a showing on the list, but he does have four other teams from the conference listed.
Connelly has Texas projected as the two-seed as the SEC Champion while Georgia lands as the seven-seed in the bracket. The projection also has LSU as the nine-seed and South Carolina as the 10-seed. Georgia and South Carolina would square off in the first round of these hypothetical projections and the winner would play Texas in the quarterfinals. LSU has the same challenging road that Tennessee had last year as the nine-seed with the one-seed, Ohio State in this projection, waiting on the horizon.
The full 12-team projection from ESPN includes No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 BYU, No. 5 Penn State, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Georgia, No. 8 Oregon, No. 9 LSU, No. 10 South Carolina, No. 11 Iowa State, and No. 12 Boise State.
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ESPN’s Mark Schlabach released his way-too-early top 25 rankings last week after the national championship game and slotted Tennessee at the No. 19 position.
“It wouldn’t be surprising to see UT take a step back in 2025,” Schlabach wrote. “The Volunteers are losing (Dylan) Sampson, the SEC’s leading rusher with 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns, and their top three receivers (McCoy and Thornton exhausted their eligibility, and White entered the transfer portal). Three starting offensive linemen will also have to be replaced. The Vols added former Arizona guard Wendell Moe Jr. and five-star tackle prospect David Sanders. There’s a solid nucleus coming back on defense, but Tennessee will miss Pearce’s production on the edge. The Volunteers will open the season against Syracuse in Atlanta, and they’ll play Georgia at home and Alabama and Florida on the road.”
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Tennessee has the seventh-best odds to win a national title at +1600, which is third-best in the SEC behind Texas (+650) and Georgia (+700).
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee offseason news and notes.