Tennessee football may have secured its place in the College Football Playoff, but hosting privileges could still be out of reach despite an Ohio State loss Saturday.
ESPN is projecting the Vols (10-2) will play at Ohio State (10-2) in the first round of the CFP. The Buckeyes suffered an ugly loss at home to unranked-rival Michigan (7-5) on Saturday, knocking them out of the Big Ten championship game.
But according to ESPN, Ohio State has a safety net of "two top-10 wins against Penn State and Indiana" after the 13-10 loss to the Wolverines. ESPN also said the Buckeyes "should also stay ahead of Tennessee" since it only has one statement win over Alabama.
Ohio State's other loss was a one-point loss to No. 1 Oregon. It was previously ranked No. 2 in the CFP.
The Vols beat Vanderbilt, 36-23, on Saturday in Nashville. They were previously ranked No. 8 in the CFP, and ESPN is projecting Tennessee to finish ranked No. 9. UT's two losses are a 19-14 defeat at Arkansas and a 31-17 loss at Georgia.
The results of the SEC championship game between Georgia and Texas could impact Tennessee's final ranking. It's possible both Georgia and Texas will remain ranked ahead of UT in the final rankings.
ESPN is currently projecting Georgia ahead of Ohio State. Texas beating Texas A&M "almost guarantees Georgia will get into the playoff regardless of the outcome in the SEC title game," according to ESPN.
The Big Ten championship between Penn State and Oregon could improve Tennessee's positioning to host if PSU loses badly to the Ducks.
Here's the bracket ESPN is projecting after last weekend's games: