Nope. 10-2 is not a guarantee of anything, and it never has been. The people saying "Tennessee at 10-2 has to be in" are fooling themselves.
The Vols have one of the weaker schedule this year, and they've got one signature good win, which came at home. If Tennessee loses on the road to UGA, their shot at getting into the playoff will be razor thin, and depend more on how other teams win or lose, than it will on Tennessee itself.
Tennessee had the head to head over Alabama in 2022 and it didn't mean diddly squat.