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Tennessee football reaches top half of Week 12 SEC Power Rankings with South Alabama win

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee linebackers warming up for the NCAA football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and South Alabama Jaguars in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, November 20, 2021.Utvsal1120
Tennessee linebackers warming up for the NCAA football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and South Alabama Jaguars in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, November 20, 2021.Utvsal1120 /
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Nov 20, 2021; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Jaray Jenkins (10) scores a touchdown that’s is called back due to a penalty when playing against Louisiana Monroe Warhawks during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2021; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Jaray Jenkins (10) scores a touchdown that’s is called back due to a penalty when playing against Louisiana Monroe Warhawks during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /

12. team. 817. . 5-6 (2-5). Previous: . Tigers

Last week: Defeated Louisiana Monroe Warhawks 27-14

We probably could have made a case for LSU being below Florida given how they struggled to put away a bad Group of Five team. However, Ed Orgeron’s program did beat Dan Mullen’s team earlier in the year. With both teams one game under .500 and playing this week to reach a bowl game, that’s enough for us to put LSU here.

Ironically, LSU dropped three spots in our SEC Power Rankings with a win despite being on a major losing streak beforehand. After all, they had lost six of seven and were on a three-game losing streak. However, that losing streak was amidst seven straight games against teams either in the top 25 now or in the top 25 when LSU played them.

As a result, struggling to beat Louisiana Monroe was going to do nothing for him. On the other hand, the success other teams had forced us to drop LSU down this list, particularly what a couple of SEC East teams did. We’ll get to that soon enough.

In LSU’s case, they have to beat Texas A&M at home this weekend to reach bowl eligibility and at least send Orgeron off in style on that front. Of course, LSU and Florida will both now be rebuilding next year, and Tennessee football faces them in their first five games of the 2022 season. That’s an encouraging sign for Rocky Top.

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