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Tennessee football in bottom five of Week 1 SEC Power Rankings for 2021

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee defensive lineman Da'Jon Terry (95) and offensive lineman Parker Ball (65) warming up tbefore the start of the NCAA college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Bowling Green Falcons in Knoxville, Tenn. on Thursday, September 2, 2021.Ut Bowling Green
Tennessee defensive lineman Da'Jon Terry (95) and offensive lineman Parker Ball (65) warming up tbefore the start of the NCAA college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Bowling Green Falcons in Knoxville, Tenn. on Thursday, September 2, 2021.Ut Bowling Green /
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Sep 2, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel looks on during the first quarter against the Bowling Green Falcons at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 2, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel looks on during the first quarter against the Bowling Green Falcons at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

Volunteers . 10. team. 839. . 1-0.

Last week: Defeated Bowling Green Falcons 38-6

Well, at least it was a blowout. However, based on the little bit of evidence we’re taking from last year and 2019 into account, Tennessee football did not look good in its Josh Heupel debut. The Vols played a historically bad FBS program in the Bowling Green Falcons, and anybody who saw that game knows the blowout was due to BGSU’s issues.

Joe Milton III missed two wide open touchdowns in his first start at quarterback. Jalin Hyatt had a bad drop. In the second quarter, the defense was giving up long drives and needed a couple of big plays to end them. This wasn’t an ideal scenario.

Although they blew out their Power Five foe more than many schools this past weekend, BGSU is so clearly awful that we still couldn’t put the Vols too high up in our SEC Power Rankings yet. They’ve got far too much to prove.

Up next: Pittsburgh Panthers

In what could be a season-defining game by determining if they reach bowl eligibility, Tennessee football has its one toss-up test of the year this weekend against the Pitt Panthers. Should the Vols pull off this win against a Power Five foe, albeit an unranked one, they will have done enough to move up our list.

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