SEC Power Rankings following Week 2 of 2018 college football season

Don’t get excited Vol Nation. Tennessee football didn’t earn this jump to No. 12 in our SEC Power Rankings. Blowing out the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers 59-3 to get Jeremy Pruitt the first win of his head coaching career really does nothing for the program.

In fact, with no wins over FBS schools, they join the Arkansas Razorbacks and Florida Gators as the three clear-cut schools in the bottom tier of the conference. However, they’re the highest of the three right now because they have the best loss.

We told you that margin of victory is only a tiebreaker. The Vols may have gotten blown out by the West Virginia Mountaineers. But it was at a neutral site. That doesn’t hurt you as much as losing to the Kentucky Wildcats at home specifically does. It also isn’t as bad as losing to the Colorado State Rams anywhere.

So for now, by default, the Vols are No. 12 in these rankings. But they still have lots of issues to work out. Pruitt’s offense is struggling, particularly up front, and they are still having to transition to that 3-4 defense.

But with a 1-1 record and looking for a bowl game, UT is lucky. They have two games coming up that won’t move them up our rankings that much, but they are an opportunity to get to 3-1. The UTEP Miners at home this week should be a sure win. Then comes Florida, and that game is winnable and at home. So it will define the season.