Did beating Alabama pave way for Tennessee football playoff run? Let's discuss

Is it too early for Tennessee football fans to at least whisper about the College Football Playoff? After beating Alabama and seeing winnable games ahead, the Vols are definitely in the mix.

On this podcast episode of "The Volunteer State," beat writer Adam Sparks and columnist John Adams react to the Vols' 26-10 victory over the Crimson Tide, discuss playoff possibilities and take a fresh look at the remaining five games on the 2026 schedule.

They also preview the upcoming road game as No. 11 Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) plays at South Carolina (3-3, 1-3) on Oct. 24 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

To hear the full conversation, listen to the 48-minute podcast. Here are a few highlights.

Why did we underestimate this Tennessee football team?

Sparks and Adams both predicted Tennessee to beat Alabama in the preseason. But they switched their pick a few days before the game, giving the Tide a small edge. They didn't think the Vols could score enough to keep pace.

Sparks said it opens a bigger discussion about how UT was underestimated through the first half of the season. He gave a few reasons for that. Here's what Sparks said:

• "I think I undervalued UT's defense before the Alabama game, thinking it was really good but maybe not great. But this performance crossed that bridge to greatness, at least to this point in the season. UT held its first three SEC opponents to 20 points or less. But I thought maybe those performances were its best on defense rather than its worst. This (Alabama game) was its best. Or who knows how much better it could be?"
• "Also, I’ve probably had a slight misjudgment of the shift in the SEC, from high-scoring offense to stingy defense. Just look at the scores on Saturday. Auburn beat Georgia 27-24. Florida beat Texas 27-24. Kentucky beat Oklahoma 21-13. Those are low-scoring games that we expected to see 20 or 30 years ago in college football."
• "So put those two things together, and I thought, 'With this offense, UT will only score in the 20s.' But I should’ve been thinking, 'All this offense has to do is score in the 20s to win because its defense is so good.'"

Adams reacted to those points and added a few of his own. Listen to that on the podcast.

Can Tennessee make the 12-team College Football Playoff?

Talking about the College Football Playoff feels a little premature. It is for some teams, but right on time for others.

The question is whether this is too early for this Tennessee team. The first CFP rankings will be released on Nov. 3. If UT beats South Carolina, expect it to make the initial projected bracket.

Here's a sampling of way-too-early playoff projections with UT playing a first-round game.

• USA TODAY: No. 11 Iowa at No. 6 Tennessee
• On3’s Andy Staples: No. 10 Texas Tech at No. 7 Tennessee
• On3’s Brett McMurphy: No. 10 Tennessee at No. 7 Texas Tech
• ESPN.com: No. 10 Tennessee at No. 7 Ole Miss
• The Athletic: No. 10 Tennessee at No. 7 Indiana
• Bleacher Report: No. 11 Tennessee at No. 6 Utah

Tennessee is not a unanimous playoff pick. For example, SI.com projects the Vols in the ReliaQuest Bowl. CBS Sports projects the Vols finishing 9-3 with losses to South Carolina and Texas A&M, narrowly missing the playoff.

Sparks and Adams discussed Tennessee's playoff probability and how it gets there. Plus, they previewed the South Carolina game and talked about UT's forgettable history at Williams-Brice Stadium.

To hear the discussion, listen to the podcast.

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 atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Did beating Alabama pave way for Tennessee football playoff run? Let's discuss