COMMENTARY: Does losing to South Carolina end Tennessee’s season?

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Since its expansion to 12 teams in 2024, the College Football Playoff has not featured a team that finished with less than 10 wins. 

Therefore, for the Tennessee Volunteers to qualify for the CFP, they would likely have to win each of their final four games.

Luckily for Tennessee, its schedule features two of the SEC’s worst teams, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, though both of those games will be played on the road.

Unfortunately, Tennessee’s remaining home games are significantly less straightforward.

Immediately following their bye week, the Volunteers will host the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats in Neyland Stadium.

Though the Will Stein-led Wildcats have looked nothing short of incredible this season, knocking off LSU and South Carolina en route to a 7-1 start, they have struggled mightily inside of Neyland Stadium, winning just once since 1984.

For perspective on the ownership that Tennessee possesses over Kentucky in Knoxville, here are some of 1984’s most notable events. 

In 1984, Larry Bird won his second NBA championship, Ghostbusters was released to theaters, and Apple officially launched its famous Macintosh software.

Give me the Volunteers to continue their long-standing ownership of the Wildcats, and improve to 7-2.

Tennessee will then travel to College Station, Texas for a matchup with the slumping Texas A&M Aggies, who are 1-4 in SEC play, placing them 15th in the conference.

It is genuinely difficult to imagine a world in which the Tennessee defense does not dominate the Marcell Reed-led Aggies offense, given the fact that Reed has completed a nauseating 56.8% of his passes.

His one-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio is also the worst in the SEC.

Tennessee should have no problem winning this game, and should easily improve to 8-2 as a result.

After that is where things get a little hairier for the Vols, who will then host No. 15 LSU.

Though Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt has fallen well short of expectations this season, LSU’s defense is one of the only units in the SEC that has rivaled that of the Volunteers.

The Tigers’ defense has been stifling this season, allowing opponents just 16 points per game.

Against SEC opponents, the Tigers have still only given up 18 points per game.

It is not the inconsistent Tiger offense that should instill fear in the hearts of Tennessee fans, but rather the fact that Tennessee will likely have no answer for LSU’s incredible defense.

Time and time again this season, Tennessee has shown a complete inability to move the ball down the field with consistency, scoring just 23 points per game in conference play.

There is little reason to believe that they will have more success than usual against LSU.

Though Tennessee’s elite backfield and stifling defense can undoubtedly carry them to a win, I see this as an uphill battle for the No. 16 Volunteers.

Tennessee will then conclude its season in Nashville, as they take on the rival Vanderbilt Commodores.

This one should be pretty straightforward for Tennessee, as the Commodores enter Week 9 dead last in the SEC, at 0-5 in conference play.

This puts the Volunteers at 9-3, and on the outside looking in at the CFP picture.

Though the Volunteers undoubtedly face an uphill climb to sneak into the playoff picture, their season is far from over.