All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football No. 19 in CFN preseason top 76

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 05: A Tennessee Volunteers megaphone sits on the sideline during the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 05: A Tennessee Volunteers megaphone sits on the sideline during the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

College Football News moved up the Tennessee football Volunteers in its 2020 rankings.

With COVID-19 resulting in the Big Ten, Pac 12, Mountain West, MAC and four indepentents postponing fall sports, preseason FBS rankings are shrinking across the board. As a result, many programs are moving up, and that applies to Tennessee football as much as any program.

The Vols are now No. 19 in the College Football News preseason rankings, which has been shortened to a top 76. It’s not too much of a jump, as they were expected to improve over last season, and CFN had them No. 25 in their final 2019 rankings.

In these rankings, Tennessee football’s best realistic goal was to finish second in the SEC East with an upset win over the Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs or Alabama Crimson Tide. Rising senior guard Trey Smith was listed as the Vols’ best player, and Florida was listed as the most interesting game for the program.

However, just like the 247Sports adjusted preseason rankings, the CFN preseason rankings makes UT’s schedule look a lot tougher. Even after dropping the Oklahoma Sooners, the Vols’ additions of the Texas A&M Aggies and Auburn Tigers combined with the rise of SEC opponents already on the schedule makes this slate brutal on paper.

Based on these rankings, seven of Rocky Top’s 10 opponents are top 20 teams, and six are ranked ahead of them. The only one not ranked ahead of them is the South Carolina Gamecocks, who come in one spot behind them at No. 20, but those two teams will face off in Columbia. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Wildcats are two spots ahead of them at No. 17.

Next. Vols 10 luckiest wins of all time. dark

Texas A&M comes in at No. 11, and Auburn comes in at No. 9. At No. 6 is Florida, No. 3 is Georgia and No. 2 is Alabama. Simply put, if this schedule is any indicator, Jeremy Pruitt’s third team has a brutal road ahead. At least Tennessee football was ahead of UK in 247Sports’ adjusted rankings, and South Carolina wasn’t ranked. This slate looks way worse.

Home/Vols Football