All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football falls during Week 9 bye in SEC Power Rankings

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 26, 2020; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt celebrates after a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2020; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt celebrates after a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee players run onto the field at the start of the Alabama and Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020.Tennessee Vs Alabama Football 100152
Tennessee players run onto the field at the start of the Alabama and Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020.Tennessee Vs Alabama Football 100152 /

2-3. Previous: . Volunteers . 12. team. 839.

Did not play

Yes, they didn’t play. But Tennessee football still dropped in our SEC Power Rankings because of what a couple other teams did. The Vols have the longest losing streak of any team in the league outside of the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Vanderbilt Commodores. They don’t have more wins than any team outside of those two schools as well.

Taking that into account, it’s pretty clear that these guys should be at the bottom of these power rankings outside of those two teams as of right now. A three-game losing streak and four weeks without a win will do that, and this is a dramatic fall from a program that was at one point 2-0, in the top 15 nationally and in the top four of these power rankings.

The quarterback situation was an issues against the Georgia Bulldogs and Kentucky Wildcats, but the secondary has been an issue all year. Jeremy Pruitt is all of a sudden starting to feel real pressure, and coming off a bye week, he’s got a lot of work to do to prove a turnaround and that he was indeed the right hire back in 2017.

Well, that starts with a huge test this week at the Arkansas Razorbacks. Down the stretch, though, the schedule then gets brutal as they have to host the Texas A&M Aggies, visit the Auburn Tigers and face the Florida Gators in December. The only likely win left for Tennessee football is against the Vanderbilt Commodores at the end of November.

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