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Tennessee football No. 15 in 247Sports’ adjusted preseason top 25

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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The Tennessee football Volunteers have moved up seven spots in these rankings.

Back in June, we wrote about Tennessee football being ranked No. 22 in the 247Sports preseason top 25. Well, a couple of decisions by major conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic have helped the Vols’ standings.

UT has now moved up to No. 15 in the 247Sports adjusted preseason rankings. That is actually one spot ahead of the Memphis Tigers. This move comes after the news of the MAC, Pac-12 and Big Ten postponing their fall sports due to coronavirus.

More intriguing, though, is what Tennessee football’s schedule now looks like. Although the Vols lose the Oklahoma Sooners due to the SEC going to a 10-game conference only slate that begins Sept. 26, their schedule strength appears to have improved dramatically.

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Rocky Top will face four top 10 teams still with the Texas A&M Aggies, Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide. Jeremy Pruitt’s program will face three top five teams in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. When you add the Auburn Tigers, who came in at No. 11, half of UT’s opponents in 2020 are top 11 teams.

It’s also worth noting that with the Kentucky Wildcats moving into the top 25 at No. 22, where the Vols used to be ranked, they will play six teams in the preseason rankings overall. That’s a big jump from four on their initial schedule.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that the new scheduling did not do this program any favors. If Rocky Top finishes this season with a winning record, it’s a major sign of improvement once again for the program.

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Right now, they are almost certainly projected to go 5-5, and they could finish 4-6 with the South Carolina Gamecocks, despite being unranked, being on the road. As we mentioned, UK will be no slouch either. Simply put, respect for Tennessee football has gone up, but their schedule strength has gone way up as well, even with Oklahoma dropping from the slate.

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