Coach Josh Heupel understands why Tennessee football fans will watch the first College Football Playoff rankings show on Tuesday night, but it won’t be must-see TV for him.

“Do you remember what the first rankings were last year? I don’t either,” Heupel said. “So it doesn’t matter. What they remember is where you finish as November wraps up.”

For what it’s worth, Tennessee was No. 17 in the first CFP poll last season. And it never factored into the playoff race.

In 2022, the Vols were ranked No. 1 in the first CFP poll. They dropped out of the four-team bracket after losing to Georgia and never got back in.

So Heupel makes a fair point. A team’s finish matters instead of its start when it comes to the playoff rankings.

But in this new 12-team playoff format, there’s more room to maneuver from week to week and still stay in the mix.

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). A new top 25 will then be released by the CFP selection committee every Tuesday through Dec. 3.

The 12-team playoff field will be announced on Dec. 8.

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Tennessee is ranked No. 6 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the AP Top 25. Where the Vols are placed in the CFP rankings will indicate what the selection committee thinks of their resume thus far.

But Heupel is right that Tennessee (7-1, 4-1 SEC) will make or break its playoff chances by what it does in the next four games, beginning with Saturday’s contest (7 p.m., ESPN) against Mississippi State (2-7, 0-5).

“Playoff rankings at this point don’t matter. You don’t have control over it,” Heupel said. “All you have control over is your preparation and how you play. Ultimately, that determines where you’re at or where you’re not at.

“For this football team, we’ve got to continue to grow and get better and control those things that we’re in control of.”

If Tennessee beats Mississippi State, its trip to Georgia on Nov. 16 (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) would have a massive impact on the SEC and playoff races.

Are Vols talking about College Football Playoff chances?

No. 2 Georgia (7-1, 5-1) plays at No. 12 Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC).

Ole Miss likely would drop out of the playoff race with a loss, and Georgia would be in the driver’s seat for a playoff bid and SEC championship game berth.

A Georgia loss to Ole Miss would put the Bulldogs in a potential playoff elimination game against Tennessee.

Tennessee would be a playoff shoo-in by winning its final four games for an 11-1 record. Losing to Georgia only and finishing 10-2 would set up a toss-up situation for the Vols, who would need help from other playoff contenders.

Alabama (6-2, 3-2) plays at LSU (6-2, 3-1) on Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC) in a likely playoff elimination game. And there are games in other conferences that will impact next week’s CFP rankings. But none of that matters to the Vols unless they beat Mississippi State to stay in the race.

“It’s just a one-week season at this point. And we’ve talked about us being in control of our destiny,” tight end Holden Staes said. “But in terms of the big picture with the College Football Playoff, we know down the road that will come. But if we just take it one week at a time and do our job each week, then we’ll have the results in terms of that at the end.”

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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