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With two weeks to go, the Vols' hopes for Atlanta are still intact. Before we get to the TV schedule and rooting guide for this week, let's take a quick look at the SEC East standings and the College Football Playoff rankings.
| CONF | OVERALL | HOME | ROAD | NEUTRAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 5-2 | 7-2 | 5-0 | 1-2 | 1-0 |
| Tennessee | 3-3 | 7-3 | 5-1 | 1-2 | 1-0 |
| Georgia | 4-4 | 6-4 | 2-2 | 3-1 | 1-1 |
| Kentucky | 4-4 | 5-5 | 4-2 | 1-3 | 0-0 |
| South Carolina | 3-5 | 5-5 | 4-2 | 1-3 | 0-0 |
| Missouri | 1-5 | 3-7 | 3-3 | 0-4 | 0-0 |
| Vanderbilt | 1-5 | 4-6 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 0-0 |
To keep the dream alive for another week, Tennessee needs to beat Missouri and hope that Florida falls to LSU.
The Vols positioning for bowl games may have recently improved with all of the upsets last weekend. Another week or two of that and things could get really interesting in a hurry. So for reference, here is the current Top 25.
College Football Playoff Rankings
| RK | TEAM | REC | TREND | LAST WEEK | NEXT WEEK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 10-0 | — | vs Mississippi State W 51-3 | 11/19 vs Chattanooga |
| 2 | Ohio State | 9-1 | 3 | @ Maryland W 62-3 | 11/19 @ Michigan State |
| 3 | Michigan | 9-1 | — | @ Iowa L 14-13 | 11/19 vs Indiana |
| 4 | Clemson | 9-1 | 2 | vs Pittsburgh L 43-42 | 11/19 @ Wake Forest |
| 5 | Louisville | 9-1 | 1 | vs Wake Forest W 44-12 | 11/17 @ Houston |
| 6 | Washington | 9-1 | 2 | vs #20 USC L 26-13 | 11/19 vs Arizona State |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 8-2 | — | vs Illinois W 48-3 | 11/19 @ Purdue |
| 8 | Penn State | 8-2 | 2 | @ Indiana W 45-31 | 11/19 @ Rutgers |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 8-2 | 2 | vs Baylor W 45-24 | 11/19 @ #14 West Virginia |
| 10 | Colorado | 8-2 | 2 | @ Arizona W 49-24 | 11/19 vs #22 Washington State |
| 11 | Oklahoma State | 8-2 | 2 | vs Texas Tech W 45-44 | 11/19 @ TCU |
| 12 | Utah | 8-2 | 3 | @ Arizona State W 49-26 | 11/19 vs Oregon |
| 13 | USC | 7-3 | 7 | @ #4 Washington W 26-13 | 11/19 @ UCLA |
| 14 | West Virginia | 8-1 | 2 | @ Texas W 24-20 | 11/19 vs #9 Oklahoma |
| 15 | Auburn | 7-3 | 6 | @ Georgia L 13-7 | 11/19 vs Alabama A&M |
| 16 | LSU | 6-3 | 8 | @ #25 Arkansas W 38-10 | 11/19 vs #23 Florida |
| 17 | Florida State | 7-3 | 1 | vs Boston College W 45-7 | 11/19 @ Syracuse |
| 18 | Nebraska | 8-2 | 1 | vs Minnesota W 24-17 | 11/19 vs Maryland |
| 19 | Tennessee | 7-3 | NR | vs Kentucky W 49-36 | 11/19 vs Missouri |
| 20 | Boise State | 9-1 | 2 | @ Hawai'i W 52-16 | 11/18 vs UNLV |
| 21 | Western Michigan | 10-0 | — | @ Kent State W 37-21 | 11/19 vs Buffalo |
| 22 | Washington State | 8-2 | 1 | vs California W 56-21 | 11/19 @ #10 Colorado |
| 23 | Florida | 7-2 | NR | vs South Carolina W 20-7 | 11/19 @ #16 LSU |
| 24 | Stanford | 7-3 | NR | @ Oregon W 52-27 | 11/19 @ California |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 7-3 | 17 | vs Ole Miss L 29-28 | 11/19 vs Texas San Antonio |
Alright. So let me see if I have this right. Clemson loses by one point to unranked Pitt and falls only from #2 to #4, and Michigan loses by one point to unranked Iowa and stays right where they are at #3. Okay, then. I guess the point is that the distance between those two teams and the rest of the pack last week must have been greater than we thought, and after all, they do only have one loss now, so maybe they still test out higher than the competition but just less so this week. I don't know.
But whatever gets Tennessee in at #19 after not being ranked the past two weeks, I'll take it. Fourth-best three-loss team? Okay. The takeaway? Top Four teams losing to unranked opponents means the committee has to look differently at Tennessee's loss to unranked South Carolina. I guess.
And with that, here is this week's TV schedule, curated for Vols fans:
Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016
| MATCHUP | TIME (ET) | TV/ONLINE | CHANCE OF LOWER-RANKED TEAM WINNING |
| (5) Louisville at Houston | 8:00 pm | ESPN / ESPN3 | ~15% |
Root for Houston here, obviously.
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016
The Noon Slate
| MATCHUP | TIME (ET) | TV/ONLINE | CHANCE OF LOWER-RANKED TEAM WINNING |
| Maryland at (18) Nebraska | Noon | ESPNews / WatchESPN | ~16% |
| (2) Ohio State at Michigan State | Noon | ESPN / WatchESPN | ~7% |
| (11) Oklahoma State at TCU | Noon | FS1 / FSGo | ~55% |
| (7) Wisconsin at Purdue | Noon | ABC / WatchESPN | ~5% |
| (23) Florida at (16) LSU | 1:00 pm | SECN / WatchESPN | ~18% |
| Oregon at (12) Utah | 2:00 pm | Pac-12N / Stream | ~22% |
The one that matters most here, of course, is the Florida-LSU game. According to ESPN's FPI, LSU has an 82% chance of winning. S&P+ puts it at 73%. So have your radios on in the car on the way to the game, and warm up your best "GEAUX TIGAHS!"
The Afternoon Slate
| MATCHUP | TIME (ET) | TV/ONLINE | CHANCE OF LOWER-RANKED TEAM WINNING |
| (17) Florida State at Syracuse | 3:30 pm | ABC/ESPN2 (RM) / WatchESPN | ~8% |
| Missouri at (19) Tennessee | 3:30 pm | CBS / Stream | ~13% |
| (22) Washington State at (10) Colorado | 3:30 pm | FOX / FSGo | ~41% |
Tennessee taking care of business against Missouri is first-things-first.
Root for Washington State against Colorado, I guess, but we don't want them passing us in the rankings. Probably doesn't matter much, anyway.
And root for Syracuse against Florida State.
The Evening Slate
| MATCHUP | TIME (ET) | TV/ONLINE | CHANCE OF LOWER-RANKED TEAM WINNING |
| (4) Clemson at Wake Forest | 7:00 pm | ESPN / WatchESPN | ~8% |
| Arizona State at (6) Washington | 7:30 pm | FOX / FSGo | ~6% |
| (9) Oklahoma at (14) West Virginia | 8:00 pm | ABC / WatchESPN | ~46% |
| (13) USC at UCLA | 10:30 pm | ESPN / WatchESPN | ~37% |
Root for:
- Wake Forest over Clemson, to throw more suspicion on the ACC;
- Arizona State over Washington, for the same reason but in the Pac-12;
- West Virginia over Oklahoma, because chaos; and
- UCLA over USC, to make room for the Vols.