Tennessee Football enters the 2026 season as one of seven Dark Horse contenders for the College Football Playoffs, according to CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford. The Vols made their first trip to the CFP in 2024, but then took a step back with an 8-5 record and a loss in the Music City Bowl in 2025.
Crawford ranked six tiers of contenders across the sport on Monday, going from “Clear Frontrunners” at the top to “Dark Horses” at the bottom. In total, there are 26 teams in these six tiers. In addition to Tennessee, the Tier 6 teams include Washington, Clemson, Louisville, South Carolina, Oklahoma State, and UNLV.
“The Vols aren’t generating the same preseason buzz as several SEC contenders, and that’s exactly what makes Tennessee dangerous,” Crawford writes. “Josh Heupel has proven his offense can overwhelm elite defenses when it finds its rhythm, and the roster still has enough speed and explosiveness to challenge anyone in the conference on defense. If Tennessee gets steady quarterback play and the defense improves under Jim Knowles, the Vols will have every opportunity to play their way into the CFP. They’re flying under the radar in July.”
Tennessee underwent some significant program changes this offseason. For one, the Vols no longer have veteran QB Joey Aguilar on the roster and will continue a quarterback battle between redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon during fall camp. On the other side of the ball, Tennessee made some big moves for its defense by bringing in multiple new transfer players and a handful of new defensive coaches. We’ll see how everything pans out when the ball hits the grass in September.
College Football Playoff Contenders by tier heading into the 2026 season, via @BCrawford247 👀
Do y’all agree?
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— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) July 13, 2026
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While Crawford didn’t mention it in his write-up, there’s another reason why a select few are optimistic about a potential dark horse run for Tennessee to get to the playoffs: the schedule.
Crawford’s CBS Sports colleague, Chip Patterson, laid out why he thinks the Vols’ schedule this fall could be favorable to the team.
“I will say that for Tennessee, you do have a situation, looking at this schedule, where I think that you’ve got to love the talent and the status of where you sit in the SEC,” Patterson said in June. “As Auburn is going through transition, as Arkansas is going through transition, as Kentucky is going through transition, you’ve got a couple of spots where potentially plucky, thorn-in-your-side type teams are not necessarily in a position to jump up in weight class in my opinion.”
Tennessee does have the fortune of playing three conference games with brand new head coaches in the SEC, including Auburn, Arkansas, and Kentucky. But there are still some heavy hitters on Tennessee’s schedule.
“Then it’s going to come down to being able to take care of business in some of those biggest games,” Patterson said. “You will note that I’ve got a win against LSU. Yes, that is another Lane Kiffin trip to Knoxville that I’ve got my eyes on. I think that somewhere between that and Texas A&M, it ends up being one-and-one through that stretch. But that win against LSU, the way that I’ve got this laid out, could leave them at 9-3 and potentially be their path to being the last team into the College Football Playoffs.”
After a disappointing ending to the 2025 season, can Tennessee bounce back and find its footing for a potential run to the College Football Playoffs in 2026?
