SEC Power Rankings following Week Four of 2019: Vols still the worst

GAINESVILLE, FL- SEPTEMBER 21: Josh Palmer #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers runs with the ball during the first half of the game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL- SEPTEMBER 21: Josh Palmer #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers runs with the ball during the first half of the game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images /

14. team. 839. . 1-3 (0-1). Previous: . Volunteers

No, Tennessee football did not do anything to move up in our SEC Power Rankings after a 34-3 loss to the Florida Gators. Did anybody expect them to? Jeremy Pruitt’s team continues to look awful, and Saturday was just another embarrassing showing to allow panic to set in among all the fans on Rocky Top.

The worst part about Saturday’s loss is the fact that there was a very good chance for UT to make this a game. The play-calling was there, but the execution wasn’t. On at least five plays in the first have, the Vols just failed to execute, which was the difference between the game being 34-3 and a one-score affair in the fourth quarter.

A quarterback controversy is now here as well after Jeremy Pruitt benched Jarrett Guarantano for Brian Maurer and then put Guarantano back in. Simply put, Pruitt’s second season in Knoxville is turning into a disaster.

Luckily, he has a bye week to focus on getting things corrected. But coming off the bye, his team has to face the Georgia Bulldogs. So 1-4 is already here. Two weeks later, they will have to face the Alabama Crimson Tide, meaning there are five losses. All that can salvage the season is if they beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs before Alabama and the South Carolina Gamecocks afterward.