Tennessee football rises by default in Week 3 SEC Power Rankings

Last week: Lost to Memphis Tigers 31-29

What did we tell you last week? The Mississippi State Bulldogs are a completely different team from week to week. That’s Mike Leach’s calling, and it’s what leads many fans to believe Tennessee football dodged a bullet by not hiring him. I still say the Vols should have done so, though, as they would have been extremely fun to watch at least.

Anyway, after a huge win over the N.C. State Wolfpack, Leach’s team fell apart and lost to a Group of Five school. To be fair, the Memphis Tigers are one of the best Group of Five programs in the nation, but MSU is one of two league schools to suffer such a loss. It being their most recent outing is enough for us to drop them here in our SEC Power Rankings.

Now, MSU fans will rightly point out that they got robbed on a horrendous call by the officials on one of Memphis’ touchdowns. It was a punt return TD that happened after one ref had already blown the play dead, and two No. 4 jerseys were in for Memphis.

However, you can’t go by one play in any game, and the Bulldogs had no excuse to be struggling with that team to begin with. It definitely puts them in trouble with the LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas A&M Aggies up next.