All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: Vols in Top 20 of ESPN’s FPI for 2017

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the inside of Neyland Stadium during a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the inside of Neyland Stadium during a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Despite much lower expectations for 2017, Tennessee football is still getting some respect. The Volunteers are in the Top 20 of ESPN’s Football Power Index.

Related Story: 4 reasons Tennessee football could be better in 2017

Last year, Tennessee football entered the season with much more respect from the ESPN FPI. The Vols were in the Top 5 and initially favored to win every game.

This year, the respect has dropped some, but not as much as you would expect.

Despite losing key figures like Joshua Dobbs and Derek Barnett, Tennessee is currently No. 19 in the updated ESPN Football Power Index for 2017. The Vols have a projected 8-4 regular season going right now with a nearly 0 percent probability to win out.

They have just over a 4 percent chance to win the SEC Championship and are the sixth highest team in the SEC.

To nobody’s surprise, the Alabama Crimson Tide come in as the highest and are No. 2 overall. The Ohio State Buckeyes are No. 1.

After the Tide, the Auburn Tigers come in at No. 5, and the LSU Tigers come in at No. 10.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators are No. 13 and No. 14 respectively. After Tennessee, the Texas A&M Aggies come in at No. 27 to round out the top half of the offense.

Although its a significant drop from last year, all of these numbers are clearly showing that the Vols still have expectations to be a solid team this year.

And considering the shape the Tennessee football program was in when Butch Jones took over, it matters that they are in the mix. As a result, there is no reason to have any negative feelings about this ranking.

In fact, it’s actually a bit shocking that the Vols are ahead of the Aggies.

Next: Vols 2017 preview by position: QBs

Given the rankings overall, the projected strength of schedule for Tennessee is currently ranked at No. 30. They play four of the five SEC teams ranked ahead of them. Their opening-game opponent, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, are now at No. 36.

Home/Vols Football