Vols Have Played/Will Play Five Teams In Initial BCS Top 25
By Zach Ragan
Oct 19, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Marlin Lane (15) rushes against South Carolina Gamecocks safety Chris Moody (6) and South Carolina linebacker Kaiwan Lewis (8) during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Volunteers 2013 schedule should go down in history as being one of the toughest schedules ever.
The initial BCS Top 25 was released on Sunday evening and five of the Vols’ opponents this season were in the Top 25.
- #1 Alabama
- # 3 Oregon
- #5 Missouri
- #11 Auburn
- #21 South Carolina
Below is the complete top 25.
| RANK | TEAM | USA TODAY POLL | HARRIS POLL | COMPUTER RANK | BCS AVERAGE | |||
| 1 | Alabama | 1 | .9961 | 1 | .9962 | 2 | .9600 | .9841 |
| 2 | Florida State | 3 | .9097 | 3 | .9147 | 1 | .9800 | .9348 |
| 3 | Oregon | 2 | .9561 | 2 | .9600 | 4 | .8800 | .9320 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 4 | .8916 | 4 | .8842 | 5 | .7900 | .8553 |
| 5 | Missouri | 7 | .7639 | 6 | .7718 | 3 | .9300 | .8219 |
| 6 | Stanford | 8 | .7206 | 8 | .7436 | 6 | .7600 | .7414 |
| 7 | Miami (Fla) | 6 | .7652 | 7 | .7650 | 10 | .6300 | .7200 |
| 8 | Baylor | 5 | .8097 | 5 | .7764 | 12 | .5500 | .7120 |
| 9 | Clemson | 10 | .5890 | 10 | .6156 | 9 | .6700 | .6249 |
| 10 | Texas Tech | 9 | .6329 | 9 | .6331 | 11 | .6000 | .6220 |
| 11 | Auburn | 17 | .3465 | 15 | .4210 | 7 | .7500 | .5058 |
| 12 | UCLA | 11 | .4581 | 11 | .5040 | 14 | .4800 | .4807 |
| 13 | LSU | 13 | .4439 | 12 | .4617 | 15 | .4600 | .4552 |
| 14 | Virginia Tech | 19 | .3219 | 19 | .3204 | 8 | .6800 | .4408 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 12 | .4484 | 14 | .4229 | 16 | .3900 | .4204 |
| 16 | Texas A&M | 15 | .4013 | 13 | .4484 | 18 | .2500 | .3666 |
| 17 | Fresno State | 18 | .3432 | 18 | .3505 | 17 | .3200 | .3379 |
| 18 | Northern Illinois | 22 | .1923 | 21 | .1973 | 13 | .5200 | .3032 |
| 19 | Oklahoma State | 13 | .4439 | 17 | .3623 | 28 | .0000 | .2687 |
| 20 | Louisville | 16 | .3684 | 16 | .3985 | 28 | .0000 | .2556 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 20 | .3019 | 20 | .2564 | 26 | .0900 | .2161 |
| 22 | Michigan | 23 | .1729 | 22 | .1581 | 21 | .1600 | .1637 |
| 23 | Central Florida | 25 | .0974 | 25 | .0907 | 19 | .2300 | .1394 |
| 24 | Nebraska | 21 | .2484 | 23 | .1577 | 28 | .0000 | .1354 |
| 25 | Oregon State | 27 | .0587 | 27 | .0640 | 20 | .1900 | .1042 |
The Vols have already played four ranked opponents this season and they’re scheduled to play three more.
The Vols played #2 Oregon, #19 Florida, #6 Georgia and #11 South Carolina.
Florida and Georgia have since dropped from the rankings.
Over the rest of the season the Vols will take on #1 Alabama, #5 Missouri and #11 Auburn.
Tennessee’s schedule was already considered tough, but the emergence of Missouri and Auburn makes the Vols’ schedule historically tough.
The Vols need two more wins to become bowl eligible, which is of extreme importance for this very young team.
Tennessee will finish the season against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, after the rough three-game stretch mentioned above.