KNOXVILLE, TN – While the game inside Neyland Stadium served as an unofficial College Football Playoff elimination matchup between Tennessee and Oklahoma, it was a Kentucky win over Auburn that may have opened the next major coaching vacancy in college football.
Another weekend of chaotic finishes around the sport has led to more questions than answers for plenty of teams.
Over 100,000 fans packed Neyland Stadium on Saturday night for Tennessee’s annual Dark Mode game. The atmosphere was electric, and by halftime, the box score suggested the Vols should’ve been up by double digits.
But instead, Oklahoma capitalized on Tennessee’s miscues and drilled field goals like it was practice.
I will say, the environment before the game was one of the best I’ve been a part of over the past ten years. But, it turned into a funeral, thanks to Oklahoma ending any hopes of Tennessee making the playoff.
Unfortunately for Tennessee, the crowd couldn’t score touchdowns, or prevent the home team from turning the ball over three times in the first half.
Coming off a rough month that included losses to Texas and Ole Miss, Oklahoma entered Knoxville looking for redemption. Thanks to a first-half fumble return for a touchdown, the Sooners took a lead into halftime and never relinquished it. Despite trading turnovers in the second half, Oklahoma held on to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive as the final seconds ticked away.
Tennessee’s playoff dreams ended in front of a blacked-out crowd that felt more like a funeral than a celebration. At least they were dressed for the occasion.
ACC Up For Grabs. No. 8 Georgia Tech, No. 10 Miami Fall
Surely the ACC will get two teams into the College Football Playoff, right? Not so fast.
No. 8 Georgia Tech lost its unbeaten record to NC State, 48-36, in Raleigh. Meanwhile, Miami’s overpaid roster came back to haunt Mario Cristobal again, this time in a stunning loss to SMU. One day after signing an extension, Rhett Lashlee’s Mustangs smelled blood and potentially ended the Hurricanes’ playoff hopes.
The Mustangs essentially ended the Hurricanes’ hopes for a college football playoff bid, outside of Carson Beck’s squad somehow winning the ACC with this roster that looks like an overpaid bust.
Hey Louisville, it’s yours for the taking with Virginia. Can you imagine a scenario where both these teams play for an ACC title, with Miami not making the playoff because of disastrous losses to Louisville and SMU?
So much for that expensive roster in South Florida.
Goodbye, Hugh Freeze, Georgia Does It Again
The scene in Auburn was surreal, almost as if the football gods were doing Tiger fans a favor when Mark Stoops brought his Kentucky team into Jordan-Hare stadium and should send Hugh Freeze to the expensive unemployment line.
I don’t care what is going on with AD John Cohen, or what he’s thinking, you now have to move on from Hugh Freeze. Losing is one thing, but losing in this fashion is a whole different situation.
And don’t worry, Auburn fans. Hugh Freeze decided to give you one last “We’re close” for old times sake.
“It’s frustrating, I still believe we’re really close,” Freeze said postgame.
Those should have been the final words for him as the head coach at Auburn. Just walk off the podium after that disastrous quote that is not seared into the brains of fans on the plains.
“It’s over for him. The fans that were hanging onto hope, along with boosters not wanting to spend the money, have checked out. The fans continued to show up, but the product only got worse,” one source close to the Auburn situation told OutKick through text message on Saturday night.
Texas Takes Down No. 9 Vanderbilt In Critical Win
For all the talk about how Steve Sarkisian was going to need a miracle to have his team in contention, coming off overtime wins against Kentucky and Mississippi State, the throttling of No. 9 Vanderbilt has Texas controlling its own destiny.
Arch Manning Pulled Over In Austin: Viral Traffic Stop Proves Even QB1 Can’t Beat A Red Light
It was Arch Manning who passed for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns in the 34-31 win, keeping the Longhorns playoff hopes alive. Even though Diego Pavia led Vanderbilt to a huge comeback, scoring 21 straight points to get them within a field goal, it was too much for the Dores to overcome.
Longhorns’ Revival: Arch Manning And Texas Reignite CFP Hopes After Beating No. 9 Vanderbilt
And while plenty of folks on social media shared their opinions following the game, Vanderbilt also still has a chance at making the playoff. Yes, two losses on the road to Alabama and Texas should not be the end, though there are plenty of detractors.
I’m just saying.
Georgia Finds Another Way To Win, This Time Against Florida
How about those Georgia Bulldogs? Look, we all know that the ‘Cocktail Party’ was going to be a dogfight, no pun intended. Florida was playing with an interim coach, and this heated rivalry
But my goodness, the ‘catch or no catch’ by Florida WR J. Michael Sturdivant had fans up in arms at SEC officiating, once again.
Credit to the Gators for fighting, though it’s not as if we haven’t seen that from this team all season. But, the playoff run for Georgia continues, as Chauncey Bowens put the game away with his 36-yard TD run to give his Bulldogs the 24-20 win. Next up, Kirby Smart takes his team to Mississippi State.
Matt Rhule Follows Up Extension With Another Top-25 Loss
What better way to celebrate Matt Rhule getting a contract extension with Nebraska than for the football team to drop its 29th straight game to a ranked opponent. Heck, USC’s Jayden Maliva passed for only 135 yards on Saturday against the Cornhuskers, and the Trojans still found a way to win.
It keeps getting worse for Nebraska, but at least Penn State won’t be able to snag Matt Rhule away, right?
As for Indiana and Ohio State, both teams made sure to keep the train rolling towards a Big Ten championship showdown.
Trey’s College Football Playoff Predictions
We are two days away from the first playoff rankings of 2025 being released on Tuesday night.
Here are my final projections before the initial rankings.
- 1. Ohio State
- 2. Indiana
- 3. Texas A&M
- 4. Alabama
- 5. Georgia
- 6. Ole Miss
- 7. Oregon
- 8. BYU
- 9. Texas Tech
- 10. Notre Dame
- 11. Texas
- 12. Oklahoma
Here we go, the first weekend of college football in November has come and gone. Now, we are headed for a month of fourth chaos, with the playoff rankings finally arriving.
