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Tennessee Vols Ranked No. 9 in Preseason AP Poll

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium at halftime during the game between Tennessee Volunteers and the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium at halftime during the game between Tennessee Volunteers and the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee football is in the Top 10 of the AP Poll for the first time in a decade. The Volunteers are No. 9 in the 2016 preseason Top 25 rankings.

For the first time since 2005, the Tennessee Vols are in the Top 10 in the Preseason AP Poll. They came in at No. 9 on Sunday, just behind the Stanford Cardinal and just ahead of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Tennessee came in at No. 10 in the Amway Coaches Poll a little over two weeks ago. The Irish came in ahead of them there.

Related Story: Tennessee Football: 10 Things that Set the Vols Apart from Other SEC Teams

Of course, the AP Poll came out after the recent arrests surrounding the Irish. However, it’s unlikely anything changed based on that.

The Vols are the third highest SEC team in the AP Poll, behind the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 1 and the LSU Tigers at No. 5. Other SEC teams include the Ole Miss Rebels at No. 11, the Georgia Bulldogs at No. 18, and the Florida Gators at No. 25.

The Texas A&M Aggies, Arkansas Razorbacks, and Auburn Tigers all received votes in the preseason rankings as well.

Just like the Coaches Poll, the last time the Vols were ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll was back in October of 2006. At that time, they were 7-1 and had just beaten the South Carolina Gamecocks.

However, a two-game losing streak after that knocked them out. They haven’t been back in since.

Meanwhile, the last time they were No. 3 the last time they actually began the year ranked in the Preseason AP Top 10. That year, 2005, they fell to 5-6 on the season.

As a result, the Vols’ history proves that these rankings mean very little. Before 2005, they were ranked in the preseason Top 10 in 2002.

That year, they came at No. 5 and finished the year 8-5.

must read: Tennessee Football: 10 Toughest Vols on 2016 Team

Maybe this year, they can actually live up to their expectations.

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