The Tennessee Vols are getting a good bit of love lately after a strong start to the Nico Iamaleava era in Knoxville. After a 3-0 start with Nico as the starter, including two blowout wins against ranked teams, the arrow is pointing way up regarding the media's perception of the Vols, as well as the poll voters . Even Nick Saban is on board with the Vols as a force to be reckoned with.
However, the SEC is a gauntlet, and winning the SEC and claiming one of the top four seeds in the new format of the College Football Playoff is a very tall task. Still, it's reasonable to believe the Vols are certainly in play for one of the remaining at large spots this year in the expanded playoff format if they don't claim their first SEC trophy in 26 years.
That's how 247 Sports sees things playing out for the Vols in their most recent (and, yes, very early) bowl projections . They have the Vols as the 8 seed, which would put them in line for a home game in the opening round. Not an unreasonable thing to predict, given the Vols currently sit seventh and ninth in the current polls.
However, it's who the Vols have facing which makes little sense: the Clemson Tigers. This is what 247 had to say about the projection:
Tennessee looked the part in Charlotte, disposing of NC State with another offensive explosion, this time, against a quality team. Clemson exorcised offensive demons with 66 points against Appalachian State in the home opener. The Tigers are one of the best teams in the ACC after two weeks, despite that 31-point loss to Georgia.
That's an awfully forgiving win over a not so good Appalachian State team in their eyes, it appears, as well as a boastful statement about Clemson and their place in the ACC without much to back it up with. Clemson got rocked by Georgia 34-3 in Week 1, looking very little like anything that resembles a playoff team.
The projection has the Tigers as the 9 seed, which means they lose the ACC title game to Miami. 247 also predicts Clemson to beat Tennessee and advance to the next round of the playoff for a rematch with Georgia.
A two-loss Clemson, without any marquee wins on its schedule, doesn't seem like a playoff team. Also, with the way the Tigers played against Georgia, it seems unlikely they can survive the rest of their schedule undefeated before going to the ACC title game in Charlotte, even against a slate that includes just one team currently ranked (#19 Louisville).
Yes, again, it's super early. There's way too much football left to play. The Vols have a gauntlet ahead, albeit one they appear well prepared on both sides of the ball to face. They have major work to do to hold up their end of the bargain as well.
That said, projections are fun to analyze - except when they don't make any sense at all.
Related: Tennessee Vols legend sees longtime SEC record go down on Saturday, but it should have an asterisk
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