The crucial “if” scenario. You see, the Vols are doing well. Josh Heupel has secured an incredible 10-win season, and they are currently ranked third in the SEC. The Vols’ 36-23 victory over Vandy in that game was huge. Here’s the problem, though. The two huge upsets this weekend—Ohio State and Miami—have made it possible for the Vols to play Georgia in the first round. Conversely, Notre Dame is ranked fifth in the CFP. Furthermore, Marcus Freeman managed an 11-1 record with no conference games. As the rivals’ hopes dangle by a thread, it appears that the Vols and Fighting Irish have enjoyed their easy route to the playoffs. CFB insiders concur with that as well.

But why take pleasure? Well, because the Vols and Notre Dame are in the playoffs, they might not receive the preferred seeding with rivals like Georgia, Oregon, and Penn State competing in conference championships to determine rankings that could either favor them if they win (they would receive a bye in the first round and play straight in the second round) or have them become unfavorable. In the meantime, Ohio State, Indiana, Tennessee, and Notre Dame simply have to wait for the conference championship results to determine their seeding.

However, CBS Sports posted a video clip on their Instagram account with the description, “These 8 teams are IN the CFP no matter what, says Danny Kanell. Y’all agree?” to reassure these two teams that must be on the list, taking it easy. Danny said, “Oregon and Penn State are in no matter the result of that game. I’ve got Texas and Georgia and then these are the four teams that I think are chilling the most, like chilling to the max. Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee, and Ohio State, kicking their feet up, watching these other teams bang up on each other, probably calling their family members, booking flights for a home playoff game.” This video implies that OSU and Hoosiers HC will be lounging with Freeman and Heupel.

Due to two unfortunate circumstances, Freeman’s chances of making the playoffs are still somewhat dubious. How so? Let’s simplify it for you by providing a detailed explanation.

Marcus Freeman’s playoff hope

When Joe DeLeone and Blake Ruffino discussed the week 14 playoff picks on The Ruffino & Joe Show on November 28th, they revealed two situations that would endanger Notre Dame’s postseason prospects. Blake Ruffino stated that the first condition might be to stay away from all conference games (0-0). After fulfilling the second condition related to Notre Dame’s playoff prospects, Ruffino believed they had an easy schedule.

Despite Joe’s disagreement with Ruffino’s reasoning, he pointed out that, to start, Notre Dame has a scheduling agreement with the ACC that means you play the next seven games and they play seven games against any ACC team. Notre Dame, therefore, doesn’t choose who they play against. The Fighting Irish, which often takes a firm stand against the SEC’s worries about scheduling top-tier and above-average opponents, is off this year. Joe seems to believe that the program doesn’t create its own schedule, thus it’s not totally intentional, but Ruffino says it just demonstrates that Notre Dame purposefully selects the straightforward schedules.

Whatever they could have predicted. It seems clear that the squad can rank fourth or fifth in the playoff rankings. Let’s wait and watch.