Week 1 of the 2026 college football season will begin Thursday and is slated to conclude Sept. 7 with Florida State (1-0) hosting No. 20 SMU (7:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN).
No. 18 Tennessee will face Furman (1-0) from the FCS on Saturday. Kickoff between the Vols and Paladins is slated for 3:30 p.m. EDT at Neyland Stadium (SEC Network+).
Preseason top 25 rankings reflect the US LBM Coaches Poll. Eight FBS games were contested on Aug. 29 in Week 0.
Ahead of the first full week of the season, ESPN's staff made College Football Playoff predictions. Three people projected Tennessee in their College Football Playoff field: Bill Connelly, Eli Lederman and Ryan McGee.
Below are their College Football Playoff projections for the 2026 season.
Tennessee predicted to make College Football Playoff
Connelly, Lederman and
McGee's College Football Playoff projections.
Bill Connelly: 1. Oregon, 2. Ohio State, 3. Notre Dame, 4. Georgia, 5. Indiana, 6. Miami, 7. Texas Tech, 8. Texas, 9. LSU, 10. Tennessee, 11. Virginia, 12. North Dakota State.
Eli Lederman: 1. Notre Dame 2. Ohio State 3. Georgia 4. Miami 5. Oregon 6. Texas 7. Indiana 8. Texas Tech 9. Tennessee 10. BYU 11. SMU 12. North Dakota State.
Ryan McGee: 1. Ohio State 2. Georgia 3. Notre Dame 4. Oregon 5. Texas 6. BYU 7. Miami 8. Indiana 9. Texas Tech 10. LSU 11. Tennessee 12. Boise State.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tennessee predicted to make College Football Playoff
