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Tennessee football: Previous five-loss top 25 teams give Vols hope

By Caleb Calhoun

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers leads his team to to the field prior to a game against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium on November 23, 2019 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers leads his team to to the field prior to a game against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium on November 23, 2019 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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At 7-5, Tennessee football has an uphill climb to reach the top 25. But if the Volunteers beat the Indiana Hoosiers in the Gator Bowl, they have a chance.

It’s hard to make the top 25 as a five-loss team, but Tennessee football has the chance. We have already discussed how the Vols can make it if they win the Gator Bowl, and you can read about what else has to happen here. Obviously, some of those bowls have already happened.

However, the other question out there is if there is precedent for five-loss teams making the top 25. And the good news is there is, which is the biggest thing to give Jeremy Pruitt’s second team hope in Jacksonville at the end of the year.

Now, the hard selling point for Tennessee football is that they will have no wins against ranked teams this year. Even the Indiana Hoosiers, at 8-4, are unranked. However, they have a chance to have four wins over bowl teams with winning records if they beat Indiana and three who finished with eight wins or more. Then they have to look at the past. Well, you don’t have to go back too far.

The Auburn Tigers finished 8-5 in 2016 and 2014, which the Vols are hoping to finish. In 2016, they finished No. 24 in the AP and No. 22 in the Coaches Poll, and in 2014, they finished No. 22 in the AP and No. 23 in the Coaches.

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Those two teams are the best parallels for Tennessee football since they are SEC teams who went 8-5 in the College Football Playoff era. Going back further, though, the Florida Gators in 2003 finished 8-5 and ranked in both polls, and in 1997, the Missouri Tigers, shockingly, finished 7-5 and ranked in both polls.

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If the Vols have any hope, they have to look to those four teams. None of them had more than eight wins or fewer than five losses, they didn’t win any divisional or conference title, and they still finished ranked in both polls. There are other teams who come close to fitting the bill, though.

Just last year, the Mississippi State Bulldogs finished the season 8-5 and No. 25 in the Coaches Poll. In 2018 and 2017, the Northwestern Wildcats finished 9-5 and ranked in both polls. Then, in 2012, the Michigan Wolverines finished 8-5 and No. 24 in the AP, and in 2010, the South Carolina Gamecocks finished 9-5 and ranked in both polls.

Historically, there are over 20 teams who have finished with five losses and were ranked at the end of the season. They date back to 1990 with the Virginia Cavaliers, who ironically lost to the Vols in the Sugar Bowl. And they were only 6-5.

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That should give Tennessee football hope. While they won’t be able to sell any major wins, their strong finish to the season, should they win the Gator Bowl, is more than worthy of a top 25 ranking. They just need lots of other things to happen, but what’s clear is that it’s not impossible because it has happened before.

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