For the first time since 2008, the Tennessee Vols are ranked in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Vols came in at No. 25 in the USA Today Amway Top 25.
It looks like those expectations for the Tennessee Volunteers are not going away. The USA Today Preseason Amway Coaches Poll placed the Vols at No. 25, the first time they were ranked in the preseason poll since 2008, when they came in at No. 18.
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However, the Vols received at least one vote in the preseason poll every year since then except for 2010 and 2014.
See the full Top 25 Preseason Coaches’ Poll here.
This is also the last time the Vols were ranked in the Coaches’ Poll at all. They were in the AP Top 25 briefly in 2012 before losing to the Florida Gators early.
All of this means that Tennessee is going to have to seriously live up to expectations going into next year. They can’t hide under the radar. And quite honestly, given the program’s track record of handling expectations, that is a scary thought. Just go back to 2012, 2005, and 2002.
Anyway, here is the full Top 25.
Ohio State was clearly the No. 1 team, and TCU and Alabama received a first place vote each.
There are eight SEC teams in the Top 25, and Tennessee’s schedule this year includes five games against teams in the Top 25 overall and two against teams in the Top 10.
The Top 10 teams on the Vols’ schedule are Alabama and Georgia, and the other Top 25 teams are Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri.
But with Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Georgia at home, there is a good chance that 10-2 or 9-3 could be the prediction for the Vols this year.
The most important thing for them is to run the table against the other unranked teams, including Florida and Kentucky on the road, South Carolina and Vanderbilt at home, and their other three non-conference games.
Then winning two or three of the other five would make the season a success.
Still, it’s nice to finally have some expectations again.