The Ohio State football team will get to host a College Football Playoff game in Columbus, Ohio, for the first round. The Tennessee Volunteers will have to come up north to take on the Buckeyes on December 21 and it will be a homecoming of sorts for one player.

No. 8 Ohio State will play No. 9 Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Here’s how the teams match up and some predictions.

Tennessee continues to play at a fast tempo under Josh Heupel, but it has done so in a different fashion this fall.

Ohio State hosts Tennessee in a matchup of two of college football's best defenses. The Buckeyes are favored by a touchdown.

Tennessee defensive back Andre Turrentine is pumped up for the Volunteers’ upcoming College Football Playoff matchup against Ohio State. Turrentine played for the Buckeyes in 2021 before transferring to the Vols, so this game will be a reunion of sorts.

Here's an early scouting report for Ohio State's first-round matchup against Tennessee in the College Football Playoff.

The biggest of them all is No. 8 Ohio State hosting No. 9 Tennessee in Columbus. No. 5 Texas received a favorable draw against No. 12 Clemson in Austin, while No. 6 Penn State will host No. 11 SMU and No. 7 Notre Dame will host No. 10 Indiana.

To start this season’s College Football Playoff, the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) will host the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers (10-2) starting at 8 p.m. ET at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

See the early betting lines and our prediction for Ohio State's matchup with Tennessee in round one of the College Football Playoff.

The Ohio State Buckeyes clinched a spot in the College Football Playoff, and Ohio Stadium will play host to a December home game for the first time.

I know what you’re thinking, Tennesseans, “Columbus, Ohio is just a cowtown! There won’t be anything to do there when we go for the College Football Playoff game on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. ET airing on ABC and ESPN.