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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 4, 2021; Pasadena, California, USA; Louisiana State Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron watches game action against the UCLA Bruins during the first half the at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 4, 2021; Pasadena, California, USA; Louisiana State Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron watches game action against the UCLA Bruins during the first half the at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Tigers . 9. team. 817. . 0-1.

Last week: Lost to UCLA Bruins 38-27

Ed Orgeron’s seat is officially on fire. Two years removed from a national championship, he just lost to Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins. On top of that, the way he lost was embarrassing, as the LSU Tigers got manhandled up front.

Taking all this into account, the Tigers are clearly near the bottom of our SEC Power Rankings. A Week 1 loss does that. However, they are one of only four schools that actually faced a Power Five program, and they didn’t get completely blown off the field. That’s enough for us to put them above some schools that struggled with Group of Five programs or worse.

Now, in terms of margin of victory, there are teams below LSU who blew out their Group of Five foe and teams above them who did so by less. However, as we mentioned, we have to somewhat take last year into account, and UCLA is a program on the rise under Kelly.

Up next: McNeese State Cowboys

It’s a safe bet the Tigers don’t do anything to move up our rankings after this weekend. Where they land will depend on what other teams do, although if they lose, they’ll certainly fall into that bottom tier with the Vanderbilt Commodores. Earning a jump is weeks away, though.

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