SEC games that could shape the title race and playoff picture for Tennessee

Tennessee fans have reason to look beyond the Volunteers' own game and keep an eye on the rest of the SEC schedule. A Sports Illustrated piece lays out the conference games carrying title and playoff implications that matter most from a Tennessee perspective.

With the SEC championship race and the College Football Playoff picture connected through the conference standings, results elsewhere in the league can affect Tennessee's path as much as what happens on the field for the Vols themselves. Games involving other contenders can shift the standings, change tiebreaker scenarios, and alter how the playoff field takes shape.

For Tennessee, that makes scoreboard watching around the SEC more than a curiosity this week. The outcomes highlighted in the piece are the ones that could help clarify, or complicate, where the Vols stand in both the conference title chase and the broader playoff conversation.