College football: Week 10 proves Tennessee has taken a terrible tumble

This weekend brought jaw-dropping upsets that will change the trajectory of the college football playoffs after three of the nation's best teams fell short of victory - two for the first time this season.

In the biggest SEC showdown to date this year, the Georgia Bulldogs took down the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday to punch their ticket to the SEC Conference Championships.
In the biggest SEC showdown to date this year, the Georgia Bulldogs took down the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday to punch their ticket to the SEC Conference Championships.  © Todd Kirkland / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

First things first: No. 1 Tennessee fell to No. 3 Georgia.

With Saturday's 27-13 win, the defending national champions delivered a big reminder to the playoffs committee that they're still the reigning kings of the field.

The Bulldogs now have control over the SEC-West division and have essentially punched their ticket to the playoffs.

Boarding Tennessee's losing ship, Clemson shockingly got blown out of the water by Notre Dame. And one of the richest college football programs, Alabama, surprising fell to LSU over the weekend.

This means Clemson's current top-four College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking spot will be short-lived, and the Crimson Tide can pretty much kiss their playoff berth goodbye. Currently sitting at No. 6 in the rankings, the surrounding programs ranked above and below Alabama all won their games this week, leaving the Tide to surely stumble in the rankings - most likely out of playoff contention.

While the Georgia vs Tennessee showdown may have hinted at just who is the best team in the nation, it left us with one of the biggest questions of the season yet: Is Tennessee football playing as well as the college football world projected them to? Or was their initial dominance an early-season fluke?

Is the season over for Tennessee football?

On Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers received their first loss at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs, and are now perhaps saying goodbye to the playoffs.
On Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers received their first loss at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs, and are now perhaps saying goodbye to the playoffs.  © Todd Kirkland / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Tennessee's perfect winning-streak has come crashing down, and Georgia remains the only team in the SEC to stay undefeated.

Simply put: the Volunteers got embarrassed by the Bulldogs on Saturday, and now, many are questioning whether Tennessee is, in-fact, a playoff-caliber team after all.

Tennessee’s chances of reaching the playoff are still alive, but much less so with Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan undoubtedly leading the pack of possible playoff berth picks.

And let's not count out TCU, who earned another win on Saturday to stay unbeaten.

The Volunteers will now definitely need some help from the top teams - all currently undefeated - to reach this year's playoffs.

Luckily for the Vols, Ohio State and Michigan will meet at the end of the month and likely both be undefeated, so one of them will be handed their first loss from the other. The highly-anticipated matchup could help the Volunteers secure a playoffs spot by being tied with Ohio State or Michigan's season records, and may ultimately win the favor of the playoff committee over one of the Big Ten programs.

Still, the Volunteers will have to remain spotless on the field and win their last three games of the season – or a chance in the playoffs will have to wait until next year.

Tennessee's next match-up will come on Saturday against Missouri, set for a noon EST kickoff.

Cover photo: Collage: Todd Kirkland / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

More on College Football: