CFP Implications Create High Expectations for Vanderbilt and Tennessee Rivalry Game
The Vanderbilt Commodores are gearing up for their final contest of the regular season on Saturday against the Tennessee Volunteers.
While the rivalry game will do nothing more than secure an above-.500 campaign for the Commodores, it has massive playoff implications should there be an upset which would rock the current landscape of the College Football Playoff.
The Volunteers currently sit eighth in the CFP rankings, so a win would all but guarantee their spot in the tournament while a loss could leave them on the outside looking in.
While rivalry week is always filled with exciting matchups across the board, the playoff implications that this holds have made it an even more anticipated matchup.
Justin Williams of The Athletic ranks this showdown as the eighth-biggest game of the weekend, even higher than the Iron Bowl which sits ninth on his list.
"This could be a Playoff elimination game for the Vols. Tennessee has no chance of reaching the SEC Championship Game, and a loss would likely drop the program out of the 12-team field, but win and the Vols should be in," writes Williams. "That’s no gimme on the road against a decent Vanderbilt team, in a league where we just witnessed three top-15 teams lose on the road to unranked opponents. But Tennessee’s top-five defense nationally (4.3 yards per play allowed) should be able to bottle up a Commodores offense that hasn’t scored more than 24 points since its early October upset of Alabama."
It has been a season of upsets all across the college football landscape, and Vandy has been at the forefront of two of those.
Opening the year with an upset victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies and knocking off the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide have been massive parts of this Vanderbilt team's identity this year.
The program has played much better at home than on the road this year, too, with a 4-2 record at FirstBank Stadium and a 2-3 record on the road, so that home success could play a major part for the Commodores during this matchup with the Vols.
With a noon kickoff, it will be a great way to start a long day of exciting matchups in rivalry week, especially with College Football Playoff implications abound.
While many have been against the CFP expansion to 12 teams, it has made the week in and week out happenings of the college football world that much more exciting, and the sport is that much the better for it.
