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Tennessee football No. 7 in national outlet’s SEC Power Rankings

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: General view of a Tennessee Volunteers flag during a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: General view of a Tennessee Volunteers flag during a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee football Volunteers are in the top half of this preseason Southeastern Conference list.

If we just go by conference record, Tennessee football finished tied with the Auburn Tigers last year for fifth in the SEC with a 5-3 record. However, divisional power has to come into account, and the Vols were likely seventh best, behind Auburn and the Texas A&M Aggies, who finished 4-4 in league play.

Entering this year, that’s about where they are placed again. The 247Sports 2020 preseason SEC Power Rankings had UT returning at No. 7, one spot ahead of the Kentucky Wildcats and one spot behind Auburn.

Rocky Top is slated to play every team ahead of it in the rankings outside of the LSU Tigers. That includes, Auburn, Texas A&M, the Florida Gators, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Here’s a bit of what was written about Tennessee football.

"Best-case scenario for the Vols is six or seven wins unless you expect Tennessee to be able to upend preseason Top 5s Alabama, Georgia and Florida this season."

Although it’s fair to put the Vols at seventh if these power rankings take into account most recent performances, there’s actually a case to put them higher. UT actually won its bowl game, unlike Auburn, and finished the season on a six-game winning streak to end with an 8-5 record.

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It is true that A&M, which came in at No. 4, played a tougher schedule, but Jimbo Fisher’s team didn’t beat anybody of significance, and they lost their last two regular season game to Georgia and LSU. As a result, you could make the case to put Rocky Top up at No. 5.

Given the fact that LSU is there, the outlet clearly is taking into account attrition and returning talent. That could actually make a case for Tennessee football to be as high as No. 4 in these power rankings. They finished strong, secured a top 10 recruiting class and return a ton of starters from last year.

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Still, it’s fair overall to put the Vols at seventh for now. Playing five of the six teams ahead of them can be tough, but if they run the table against the teams below them in Jeremy Pruitt’s third year, then these games present a major opportunity.

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