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The college football TV schedule curated for Vols fans is below. But first, let's take a look at the SEC East standings and the national rankings, data important to the Rooting Guide. First up, the SEC East standings:
| CONF | OVERALL | HOME | ROAD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 2-0 | 5-0 | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| Florida | 2-1 | 4-1 | 3-0 | 1-1 |
| Georgia | 1-2 | 3-2 | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Kentucky | 1-2 | 2-3 | 2-1 | 0-2 |
| South Carolina | 1-3 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 1-2 |
| Missouri | 0-2 | 2-3 | 2-1 | 0-2 |
| Vanderbilt | 0-2 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-1 |
Tennessee is sitting pretty, ahead of both Florida and Georgia due to beating them both. Georgia could win out and the Vols could lose two more SEC games, and Tennessee would still be first in line for the SEC Championship Game over the Bulldogs thanks to the head-to-head. If Florida could somehow win out, the Vols could still lose one more SEC game and still be in control, but if the Gators lose to LSU at noon on Saturday, the Vols' SEC cushion grows to two games. The value of those head-to-head tiebreakers is huge.
Regardless, always root for opponents of non-Vols SEC East teams unless it's mathematically impossible for it to negatively impact Tennessee. We're not there yet.
For teams that win the SEC Championship, national perception and rankings generally take care of themselves. For teams that play in but don't win the SEC Championship, though, the competition for playoff spots matters, so we (generally) root for opponents of teams ahead of us in the polls. Here is the current AP poll for reference:
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama(53) | 5-0 | 1514 | — |
| 2 | Ohio State(6) | 4-0 | 1451 | — |
| 3 | Clemson(1) | 5-0 | 1403 | 2 |
| 4 | Michigan(1) | 5-0 | 1334 | — |
| 5 | Washington | 5-0 | 1234 | 5 |
| 6 | Houston | 5-0 | 1233 | — |
| 7 | Louisville | 4-1 | 1160 | 4 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 5-0 | 1113 | 1 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 5-0 | 1045 | 2 |
| 10 | Miami | 4-0 | 909 | 4 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 4-1 | 882 | 3 |
| 12 | Nebraska | 5-0 | 821 | 3 |
| 13 | Baylor | 5-0 | 805 | — |
| 14 | Ole Miss | 3-2 | 712 | 2 |
| 15 | Stanford | 3-1 | 711 | 8 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 4-1 | 528 | 4 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 4-1 | 497 | NR |
| 18 | Florida | 4-1 | 391 | 5 |
| 19 | Boise State | 4-0 | 385 | 5 |
| 20 | Oklahoma | 2-2 | 324 | NR |
| 21 | Colorado | 4-1 | 276 | NR |
| 22 | West Virginia | 4-0 | 240 | NR |
| 23 | Florida State | 3-2 | 230 | 11 |
| 24 | Utah | 4-1 | 86 | 6 |
| 25 | Virginia Tech | 3-1 | 85 | NR |
And now on to the curated schedule and Rooting Guide. I'm not including the Wednesday or any Thursday games because they have no impact on the Vols.
Friday, Oct. 7
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Online |
|---|---|---|
| (3) Clemson at Boston College | 7:30 pm | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Root for Boston College here if you want. It is not likely to happen (16% chance), but it could be fun if it did.
Saturday, Oct. 8
The Noon Slate
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Online |
|---|---|---|
| LSU at (18) Florida | Noon | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| (20) Oklahoma vs. Texas (at Dallas) | Noon | FS1 / FS Go |
Root for LSU to give the Vols cushion over the Gators at noon on ESPN. S&P+ gives the Tigahs only a 42% chance to knock off the Gators, but I'm not buying that number. It could go either way.
The Red River Rivalry doesn't really impact the Vols (at this point, anyway), but it is one of those annual games to watch if you get the chance.
The Afternoon Slate
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Online |
|---|---|---|
| (9) Tennessee at (8) Texas A&M | 3:30 pm | CBS / Stream |
The Tennessee-Texas A&M game is The Game of the day, of course. Navy takes a crack at #6 Houston at 3:00 on CBSSN (whatever that is), and Indiana swings at #2 Ohio State at 3:30 on ESPN, but the underdogs aren't likely to have success in either of those games.
The Evening Slate
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Online |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Alabama at (16) Arkansas | 7:00 pm | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| (4) Michigan at Rutgers | 7:00 pm | ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
| Georgia at South Carolina | 7:30 pm | SECN / WatchESPN |
| (5) Washington at Oregon | 7:30 pm | FOX / FS Go |
| (23) Florida State at (10) Miami, FL | 8:00 pm | ABC / WatchESPN |
After the Vols' game, settle in for an evening of channel-surfing. The Alabama-Arkansas game won't impact the Vols, but does provide an opportunity to fan-scout Alabama for next week. No real rooting interest there, though. Normally, we'd root for the underdog, but I don't want anyone making the Tide mad a week before we play them.
I'm rooting for South Carolina (three SEC losses already) over Georgia (two SEC losses) at 7:30 and for two-loss Florida State over still-undefeated Miami at 8:00.
According to S&P+, Rutgers has almost no shot against Michigan, but Oregon has a 35% chance to hand Washington its first loss, so root for the Ducks.
Happy college football weekend!