Tennessee

Here are 7 ways that Tennessee can make the College Football Playoff

Published

1 year ago

November 18, 2024

Here are 7 ways that Tennessee can make the College Football Playoff

After Tennessee fans shook off their disappointment from a loss to Georgia, they realized that a College Football Playoff bid is still within reach.

But the Vols (8-2) will need to beat UTEP (2-8) on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) and Vanderbilt (6-4) on Nov. 30. And then they’ll need help from other teams.

The updated College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Tennessee will be a bubble team and clustered along with several others for one of the final spots. So UT fans will have a rooting interest in other games.

Here are seven ways the Vols could make it into the 12-team playoff.

Ole Miss loses to Florida

Ole Miss (8-2), Georgia (8-2), Alabama (8-2) and Tennessee have the same record and a head-to-head win against another team in the foursome. So any loss by a team in this group helps the others.

Ole Miss plays Florida (5-5) at The Swamp on Saturday (noon ET, ABC). The Rebels are favored. But the Gators are rejuvenated after beating LSU behind dynamic freshman quarterback DJ Lagway.

UT fans should root for Lane Kiffin to lose. That shouldn’t be hard.

Ohio State blows out Indiana

Indiana (10-0) plays at Ohio State (9-1) on Saturday (noon ET, FOX). Tennessee could benefit from a blowout by either team. But an Ohio State win by a wide margin seems more likely.

Indiana is undefeated, but it has a weak schedule and no Top 25 wins.

If the Hoosiers lose to Ohio State in a blowout, it would feed skepticism about their legitimacy and perhaps push them out of the bracket.

UT fans should root for Ohio State to rout Indiana.

Notre Dame loses to Army or USC

If Notre Dame (9-1) wins out, it will make the field. But considering it already has an ugly loss to Northern Illinois, another defeat likely would bury the Irish.

Notre Dame plays undefeated Army (9-0) on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, NBC) and then Southern Cal (5-5) on Nov. 30.

UT fans should practice patriotism and root for Army to win.

Texas-Texas A&M winner loses SEC title game

Texas (9-1) plays at Texas A&M (8-2) on Nov. 30. If both avoid an upset this week (against Kentucky and Auburn, respectively), the winner of their Lone Star State showdown would advance to the SEC title game.

Suppose Texas A&M beats Texas but loses the SEC title game for its third loss. There would be a good debate between the Aggies and Vols based on résumé.

Suppose Texas beats Texas A&M but loses the SEC title game for its second loss. Texas doesn’t have a Top 25 win, so its résumé may be weaker than Tennessee’s in that scenario.

There’s a solid chance that Alabama advances to the SEC championship game based on a series of tiebreakers. If Alabama wins the SEC title, the Vols would own a victory over the conference champion, strengthening their résumé.

UT fans should root against a Texas school in the SEC title game to create chaos.

Penn State loses to Minnesota or Maryland

Penn State has a strong ranking but a weak schedule. And it lost 20-13 to Ohio State in its only game against a Top 25 opponent.

So another loss would drop Penn State precipitously.

The Nittany Lions play at Minnesota (6-4) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) and against Maryland (4-6) on Nov. 30.

UT fans should root for Penn State to lose either game.

Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss lose rivalry games

On Nov. 29, Ole Miss plays Mississippi State (2-8) in the Egg Bowl, and Georgia plays Georgia Tech (6-4) in the “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” rivalry game. On Nov. 30, Alabama plays Auburn (4-6) in the Iron Bowl.

If any of the favorites loses its rivalry game, Tennessee would jump ahead of it. However, all three will be playing at home, making those upsets unlikely.

Nevertheless, UT should root for upsets in those rivalry games.

Tennessee is still in the field

Don’t assume that Tennessee will be outside the bracket when it’s released on Tuesday.

Most media projections list the Vols as the first team out, but a few others have them making the field — barely.

That disagreement is a good reminder that these rankings are subjective. Any of these scenarios could put the Vols back in the bracket, but they still might be in it with no assistance needed.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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Tennessee

Tennessee special election live: Trump backs Republican Matt Van Epps

Published

6 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee special election live: Trump backs Republican Matt Van Epps

Mark Green, a physician and retired U.S. Army surgeon, represented Tennessee’s 7th congressional district from 2019 until his resignation in 2025. A Republican, Green chaired the House Committee on Homeland Security from 2023 to 2025 before leaving Congress to enter the private sector.

A West Point graduate, Green served as an infantry officer before earning his medical degree at Wright State University. He became a flight surgeon with the Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, participating in missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, including Operation Red Dawn, which captured Saddam Hussein. He later authored a book about the experience.

After retiring from the military in 2006, Green founded Align MD, a hospital staffing company, and launched a medical foundation providing care to underserved communities. He entered politics in 2012, winning a Tennessee Senate seat, where he championed legislation to repeal the state’s Hall Income Tax and expand protections for veterans and small businesses.

Green was elected to Congress in 2018, succeeding Marsha Blackburn, and won reelection three times. His tenure included a brief bid for House Speaker in 2023 and leadership on homeland security issues. He announced his resignation in June 2025 after the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” ending his congressional career on July 20.

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TN special election: Voters to decide between Republican Van Epps, Democrat Behn to fill vacant congressional seat

Published

18 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Press Room

TN special election: Voters to decide between Republican Van Epps, Democrat Behn to fill vacant congressional seat

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – It all comes down to Tuesday, December 2, as voters will decide between Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Aftyn Behn to fill Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District seat left vacant by former Rep. Mark Green.

The 7th congressional seat was formerly filled by Green, a combat veteran, emergency room doctor and former state senator, who announced his retirement from politics twice to pursue a career in the private sector.

Results – Special Election: U.S. House of Representatives 7th Congressional District

District 7: The 7th Congressional District spans 14 Tennessee counties, including Benton, Cheatham, Davidson, Decatur, Dickson, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Montgomery, Perry, Robertson, Stewart, Wayne and Williamson.

Latest: Poll shows Republican Van Epps holding slight lead over Democrat Behn in Tennessee’s special congressional race

A new survey from Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey shows that 48% of voters support Van Epps and 46% support Behn. It also found that 2% plan to vote for one of three third-party candidates on the ballot, and 5% are undecided.

Here is the official list of candidates:

Matt Van Epps – Republican
Aftyn Behn – Democratic
Teresa “Terri” Christie – Independent
Bobby Dodge – Independent
Robert James Sutherby – Independent
Jon Thorp – Independent

Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville): State representative elected in a 2023 special election who says she has “fought to keep our families safe, standing up to those who siphon wealth from our neighborhoods while stripping away our freedoms.”

Matt Van Epps: A combat veteran who worked in the Tennessee Department of General Services under Gov. Bill Lee, who says he “understands the values of hard work, personal responsibility, and service to community that define this great state.”

Previous: Trump-backed Van Epps and Democrat Behn win Tennessee primaries for US House special election

Here are when Special Election Day polls will open in each District 7 county:

Benton County – 8 a.m.
Cheatham County – 7 a.m.
Davidson County – 7 a.m.
Decatur County – 8 a.m.
Dickson County – 7 a.m.
Hickman County – 8 a.m.
Houston County – 9 a.m.
Humphreys County – 9 a.m.
Montgomery County – 7 a.m.
Perry County – 9 a.m.
Robertson County – 7 a.m.
Stewart County – 8 a.m.
Wayne County – 8 a.m.
Williamson County – 7 a.m.

All polls will close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 2.

Only registered voters who live in the U.S. House District 7 are eligible to vote in this election. Voters can check which congressional district they live in and also find their polling locations here.

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Tennessee

Titans report card: How we graded Tennessee in Week 13 loss to Jaguars

Published

1 day ago

December 1, 2025

Press Room

Titans report card: How we graded Tennessee in Week 13 loss to Jaguars

The Tennessee Titans (1-11) took a massive step backward in their Week 13 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, looking more like the undisciplined, unprepared team from earlier in the season than the unit that put up a fight against the Seattle Seahawks a week ago.

Tennessee struggled to get anything going, and between penalties, poor offensive line play, and allowing too many explosive plays, they had no chance against a Jaguars team that came to play and left with a share of the AFC South division lead.

The Titans will regroup and prepare for a trip to Cleveland to face Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns.

Before we move on, here’s a quick report card from Sunday’s action.

Offense

Cam Ward was not sharp, and he got little help from his perimeter receiving corps, who could not gain separation throughout the afternoon and had too many drops. Couple that with a dismal performance on third downs, and the unit got nothing going after the initial drive of the game.

The offense started with one of its best drives of the season, mixing run and pass, but after that, the issues that had plagued them early in the season came rushing back, and the unit looked completely overmatched by the Jaguars’ defense. It was a rough outing and a definite step back.

Grade: D

Defense

The defense was better than it was against the Seahawks, but the lack of cornerback depth without Jalyn Armour-Davis was noticeable. The unit is already thin and struggles to match up with the Jaguars’ receiving corps. When you couple the secondary struggles with an invisible pass rush, it makes for a long afternoon.

While they were better this week, the defense still gave up too many big plays, got almost zero help from the offense (or special teams), and wore down.

Grade: C

Special teams

The special teams were anything but special. Between turnovers and crushing penalties, they were unable to capitalize on some opportunities and, for the most part, had a rough day.

Chimere Dike did rip off another big return and made some other plays that made an impact, but his first-quarter fumble on a kickoff return changed the momentum of the game, and the Titans never recovered. Joey Slye made his only attempt for the Titans’ only points, but that was nowhere near enough.

Grade: C

Coaching

Yes, Tennessee entered the game with some injuries and roster questions, but after the first series, it appeared completely unprepared to take the field on Sunday. In a game that turned into a flagfest with 23 combined penalties, the Titans’ lack of discipline again came to light, and they got the worst end of the penalty stick with 13, including multiple that gave the Jaguars new life.

Tennessee has shown some improvement in recent weeks, but that was far from the case this week, with the team looking more like the Brian Callahan-led unit than those that took the field against the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks.

Grade: D

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