National media outlet predicts Tennessee Vols will host SEC rival in first round of College Football Playoff

The latest College Football Playoff predictions from The Athletic's Stewart Mandel have the Tennessee Vols hosting an SEC rival in the first round.

Mandel has Tennessee as the No. 8 seed in his latest predictions.

And he has the Vols hosting the Ole Miss Rebels in the first round.

The winner would head to Columbus for a second round matchup against the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes.

Hosting Ole Miss in the first round would certainly be a hell of a playoff matchup for the Volunteers.

For starters, the Rebels are led by former Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin. Anytime Kiffin comes to Knoxville, there's a little extra juice in the building.

The last time Kiffin coached against the Vols was in 2021 when fans pelted the field with trash in protest of some questionable calls and an inordinate amount of injuries.

Ole Miss pulled out the win after Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker was forced out of the game late in the fourth quarter.

Backup quarterback Joe Milton nearly led Tennessee to a win, but he ran out of bounds as time expired in the fourth quarter.

I'm sure the Vols would love to have another shot at Ole Miss. But there's still a lot of season left to be played. Playoff predictions are fun, but they don't mean anything in mid September.

Related: Bob Stoops sends strong message about Josh Heupel and Brent Venables ahead of Tennessee Vols vs Oklahoma Sooners