The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field has generated tremendous interest in the sport, which should surprise no one.
The heightened interest, as reflected in the television ratings, has been most apparent in the SEC, where half the teams have only two losses. Based on their overall records, those teams all can tout themselves as playoff contenders, though Missouri would be a huge stretch because of its lightweight schedule and an awful loss to Texas A&M.
Tennessee is no stretch. The Vols are 7-1 and will be favored in three of their last four games, including Saturday’s SEC matchup with Mississippi State at Neyland Stadium.
UT’s schedule hasn’t been overly taxing. It hasn’t produced style points in SEC play. But the Vols have kept winning and could have a shot at the playoffs even if they lose to Georgia in Athens on Nov. 16.
UT’s playoff possibilities aren’t surprising. They were included in the preseason expectations for a program that averaged nine victories per year in coach Josh Heupel’s first three seasons.
Eight other SEC teams also qualified as playoff contenders if you believed their top-25 preseason ranking.
Although there was a long list of playoff candidates, that didn’t mean those teams were regarded as potential national champions. There seemingly was a significant gap between playoff hopefuls and legitimate championship contenders.
Now, I’m not so sure.
Amid all the uncertainty surrounding an unpredictable season, I’m sure of this: There’s no super team. There’s just an illusion of a super team, and it comes and goes.
That also has boosted the sport’s popularity.
Just when you think a powerhouse team has emerged from the field, it’s knocked off your pedestal.
Georgia looked the part when it vanquished Clemson in the second half of their season opener. But the Bulldogs were viewed differently after falling behind Alabama by four touchdowns before eventually losing in the final seconds.
Texas seemingly had separated itself from a handful of SEC playoff contenders in the first half of the season. However, just when you believed the Longhorns’ No. 1 ranking was on target, things turned topsy-turvy in a 30-15 loss to Georgia at Texas Memorial Stadium.
Unbeaten Oregon’s ascent to No. 1 was powered by its victory over Ohio State. But the Ducks barely beat Boise State, 37-34.
One weekend after another, we are reminded that no one team rules college football this season. And that – combined with the 12-team playoff − makes every Saturday more enticing for fans.
So, you shouldn’t be surprised if the upcoming 2024 postseason is much like this regular season, replete with close games and unpredictable outcomes. The uncertainty could be encouraging to the lowest seeded teams.
That’s a turnabout from five years ago when LSU fielded a team for the ages. The Tigers went 15-0, had only two close calls during the regular season and made a mockery of the four-team playoff by beating Oklahoma in the semifinals and Clemson in the championship game by a combined score of 105-53.
A year later, Alabama was even more dominant. Nobody came closer than 17 points to the Tide, which went 13-0 and included an offensive depth chart stacked with future NFL wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks. Alabama beat Notre Dame 31-14 in a CFP semifinal game and routed Ohio State 52-24 for the national championship.
Georgia’s 2022 lineup wasn’t quite as star-studded as LSU’s in 2019 or Alabama’s in 2020. But the Bulldogs went 15-0 and outscored opponents by an average of 27 points to claim back-to-back national titles.
ADAMS:Maybe, Tennessee football doesn’t have to look like a playoff team to be one
They had two close games, including a 42-41 CFP semifinal victory over Ohio State, but capped their season with a 65-7 victory over TCU that was downright scary. You might never see another playoff game as one-sided as that one.
And I don’t expect to see one this postseason, which − if it follows the regular-season trend − could feature more upsets than blowouts.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
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