Tennessee vs Ohio State College Football Playoff Round 1 Preview: Key players, predictions, and upset potential ft. Ryan Day

The second half of games in Round 1 of the College Football Playoff includes some of the most competitive contests, featuring veteran coaches in must-win situations. It also presents the greatest possibility of an upset from the opening bracket.

The Vols and Buckeyes meet in Columbus, Ohio, in what should be the most competitive game of the first round, featuring a pair of two-loss teams.

Tennessee vs Ohio State College Football Playoff preview

Ohio State entered the season with what many called the “$21 million roster” after getting several high-valued juniors to return and signing some pricey players from the transfer portal.

They also brought in Chip Kelly, who abruptly left his position as head coach of UCLA, to be the offensive coordinator. The strategy was simple: beat Michigan then play for the national title. Thus far, they failed the first half of the equation.

Ohio State 2024 regular season preview

After losing to top-rated Oregon in Eugene by a single point and beating up Penn State on the road in State College, the Buckeyes lost a disastrous game at home to their much-hated rival Michigan, a game they trailed for most of the four quarters.

Ryan Day of OSU was woefully outcoached by his counterpart, Sherrone Moore, for a second consecutive year. Kelly’s game plan going into the game was disastrous, and he never made the necessary adjustments.

Calls for the firing of Day came immediately after the loss, and despite the recent vote of confidence from Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork, who stated that he was absolutely confident Day would return next year, the Buckeyes will be looking for a new coach if they don’t make a run deep into the playoffs.

Make no mistake about it, this is a must-win game for [Ryan] Day.

Tennessee Volunteers' 2024 regular season preview

The Volunteers lost two hard-fought contests to Arkansas and Georgia this season, surrendering leads after controlling the games early on.

Head coach Josh Heupel got the most out of redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a star in the making. He also once again found magic at the running back position with the development of Dylan Sampson.

And while those two players get most of the headlines, it’s the Volunteers defense, one of the best in the SEC and most underrated in the nation, which helped carry them through the season.

Tennessee vs Ohio State injury outlook for College Football Playoff Round 1

The Buckeyes offensive line had concerns coming into the season and then suffered several significant injuries during the year. Left tackle Josh Simmons was lost to a season-ending knee injury in the Oregon game, then center Seth McLaughlin tore an Achilles tendon during a November practice.

As a result, guard Donovan Jackson, who was playing well after a poor 2023 season, was pushed out to left tackle and the Buckeyes were forced to try out several alignments on the offensive line.

Michigan exploited the weakness, as the Wolverines duo of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant ate up the Ohio State line and controlled the middle of the field. The fact that Kelly tried to consistently run the ball down the Wolverines' gut did not help the situation.

Tennessee vs Ohio State CFP score prediction

Though not the caliber of Graham and Grant, the Volunteers have three quality players on the inside of their defensive line: Omari Thomas, Bryson Eason, and Omarr Norman-Lott.

All three can make big plays and alter the momentum of games. Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. is coming off a disappointing season, but he should be able to exploit Jackson off the edge and rattle quarterback Will Howard, who has a propensity to stare down his primary targets.

And while the Buckeyes defense is prone to giving up big plays, especially with the struggles of cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun, they do have a talent advantage over the Tennessee offense and should be able to force Iamaleava into a few mistakes.