What Danny White said about Tennessee hosting CFP game, Lane Kiffin back in Knoxville

Tennessee athletics director Danny White said most of the planning is done for Neyland Stadium to host a College Football Playoff game.In an interview with The Sports Animal on Nov. 11, White said the plans for a potential home playoff game were largely completed in 2024 before Tennessee made its first CFP appearance. The Vols ended up playing on the road that year as the No. 9 seed, traveling for a first-round game at Ohio State.No. 9 Tennessee (7-2, 5-2 SEC) is in the playoff chase again this year. It plays at Texas A&M (4-5, 1-5) on Nov. 14 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN)If the season ended today, the Vols — No. 8 in the CFP rankings — would host No. 9 Indiana in a first-round playoff game."When we spend that amount of time to kind of prepare for hosting a playoff game like we did in 2024 — we finished with the ninth seed and not the eight, so we didn't get a chance to do it — we were very prepared," White said. "Not that we won't relook at it, and we're doing that, but most of that work is done. We have a template for what home playoff football looks like at Neyland Stadium."What Danny White said about Lane Kiffin return to KnoxvilleTennessee will likely have to run the table in its final three games to make the playoff. The Vols' last regular-season home game is against LSU on Nov. 21 (3:30 p.m., ESPN), which be a spectacle with Lane Kiffin coming to Knoxville.The last time Kiffin visited Neyland Stadium was in 2021 as Ole Miss' coach, when fans trashed the field in the fourth quarter with mustard bottles, golf balls, beer cans and water bottles. UT had to issue apologies for the scene.White said that he expects an electric, but better behaved, atmosphere this time around."I expect to not get a penalty from our fans and I don't think we'll have that kind of activity. I certainly hope not," White said. "This season has a chance to be really special and we need them in the game with us. It's not about the past and mustard bottles. It's about winning a football game and creating a dynamic atmosphere, and I know they'll be there with us."Danny White on CFP expansion, future schedulingAn extra round of on-campus playoff games will be added next year when the CFP expands to 24 teams. White was an early proponent of the 24-team format, saying that it will keep more fan bases engaged throughout the season. He added that teams could schedule more marquee nonconference games if they're less worried about a loss eliminating them from CFP contention."Going to 12, everyone said there'd be a reduction in the importance of the regular season," White said. "The significant data point we have to look at that is television ratings, and when we went from four to 12, it was the highest-rated regular season in the history of college football, particularly in the back third of the season. ... I think the regular season will be even more compelling in the (24-team format) for the same reasons."White continued: "I think it's going to be absolutely awesome. I know there's a lot of trepidation because it's new and different, but I think it's going to be great."Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Danny White said about Tennessee hosting CFP game, Lane Kiffin back in Knoxville