Paul Finebaum Predicts SEC Team's College Football Playoff Hopes Will End with Loss

Week 8 of the college football season features several key matchups with significant College Football Playoff implications. One of those is between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Both teams enter this game 5-1 but have struggled in their past two games.

The Volunteers suffered a loss to the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks before narrowly winning in overtime against the unranked Florida Gators. Similarly, the Crimson Tide lost to the unranked Vanderbilt Commodores and escaped with a close win over the unranked South Carolina Gamecocks.

Paul Finebaum appeared on "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning," where he said a loss this weekend for Tennessee could put the "dagger" in its playoff hopes.

"For Tennessee, a loss here, knowing that they have to go to Georgia, that's probably going to be the dagger," Finebaum said. "I don't know how you fix these problems, Greg. They are pretty self-evident what the problems are offensively. You just have to use Scotch tape and try to hold them together."

Tennessee's most significant challenge this season has been its offensive struggles. In the first three games, the Volunteers averaged 63.7 points; however, that average has dropped dramatically to 20.7 points in their last three games. Additionally, their yardage reflects this decline, with an average of 639.3 yards per game in the first three games compared to only 329.7 yards in the last three.

The Volunteers will have to find some offensive success if they want to remain in the thick of the playoff race.

Related: Paul Finebaum Names Major SEC Coach Entering A 'Very Pivotal Time In His Tenure'