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Tennessee football No. 8 in analyst’s SEC preseason power rankings

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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SEC Network’s Cole Cubelic could have been higher on the Tennessee football Volunteers for 2020.

After giving tons of praise to different Tennessee football players throughout his rankings of individuals at certain positions, ESPN’s Cole Cubelic doesn’t seem to be too high on the Vols as a whole. Maybe, though, he’s just that high on the Southeastern Conference.

The SEC Network analyst had Rocky Top come in at No. 8 in his preseason SEC Power Rankings over the weekend. Coming in at No. 8 alone, though wasn’t the shocker. The shocker was where he put some other teams.

Cubelic had the Kentucky Wildcats at No. 5 on his list, three spots ahead of Tennessee football and even ahead of the Texas A&M Aggies and Auburn Tigers. He released his ranking of all 14 schools on Twitter Saturday.

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Although everything else ahead of the Vols makes sense, Kentucky being ahead of them is odd. Both teams finished last season strong with an 8-5 record. However, while Kentucky won its final four and five out of its final six, UT won its final six and seven out of its final eight.

Between the two schools in their final six games, the only difference was when they faced each other. The Vols beat UK 17-13 on the road, and UK has to somehow match its late-season magic this year without Lynn Bowden Jr., its do-everything playmaker.

Taking that into account and the fact that power rankings in a preseason combine projections and how hot teams are, it makes no sense to have the Vols behind UK. Of course, given that this is the case, UT’s revised 10-game SEC schedule now includes six school ahead of Jeremy Pruitt’s program in Cubelic’s rankings.

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Rocky Top still has to face the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators along with Auburn and Texas A&M added to the slate. The LSU Tigers are the only ream ranked ahead of Tennessee football that the Vols don’t actually face. However, as we mentioned, Kentucky shouldn’t start things out at No. 5. Mark Stoops’ team is getting a bit too much love.

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