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Tennessee Football: Vols Finish 2016 Season Ranked No. 22 in AP Poll

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 30, 2016; Nashville , TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones leads his team onto the field before the Music City Bowl against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2016; Nashville , TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones leads his team onto the field before the Music City Bowl against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee football finished the 2016 season in the Top 25 for the second straight year. The Volunteers closed out the year at No. 22 in the AP Poll.

For the first time since 2007, Tennessee football finished back to back seasons ranked in the AP Poll Top 25.

The Vols finished No. 22 in the final AP Poll, which you can see here. That’s the same ranking they had at the end of the 2015 season.

They were the fourth highest SEC team in the AP Poll behind the Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers, and Florida Gators.

They were also one of five SEC teams to finish in the AP Top 25, with the Auburn Tigers being the other team in there at No. 24.

The final ranking is a far cry from what they had hoped for this year after starting off the preseason in the Top 10 and getting to 5-0, but two straight Top 25 finishes is still another brick in the process under Butch Jones.

Despite the Virginia Tech Hokies and Gators both losing to the Vols and having the same number of losses they both finished ahead of Tennessee in the Top 25.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers, whom Tennessee beat in the Music City Bowl, dropped out of the final Top 25 rankings after being No. 24 when they faced the Vols.

Other questionable four-loss teams to finish ahead of the Vols included the Louisville Cardinals at No. 21 and the Miami Hurricanes at No. 20.

Still, a Top 25 finish is a Top 25 finish, and it at least signals that the Vols are fighting their way back to relevance.

Perhaps it is taking a bit longer than fans might like, but Jones’s production on the field and on the recruiting trail has been solid.

And he deserves credit for getting Tennessee back to this point.

Now we find out if he can take the final couple of steps.

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