Tennessee football’s absence from Coaches Poll ends streak dating back to 1985

You know the college football preseason is fully underway when the official rankings come out, and the first of them was released Monday. The USA TODAY AFSCA Coaches Poll was revealed, and Tennessee football was actually the biggest shocker on the list.

Despite all signs pointing to the contrary, the Vols did not make the top 25. They received 163 points, three spots out at No. 28. The Penn State Nittany Lions and Iowa Hawkeyes were No. 27 and No. 26 respectively. Six SEC teams made the top 25.

Missing from the ranking is actually a first in a long time for Tennessee football. They are entering Josh Heupel’s second year here and coming off a 7-6 campaign. Not since 1985 have the Vols been absent from either the AP or Coaches Poll when coming off a winning season while returning the same head coach.

Even the past decade plus, during down years, they make the top 25 in such situations. Since firing Phillip Fulmer, the Vols were entering a season coming off a winning record and without a coaching change four times: 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020. Yes, they were in the top 25 to start the season all of those times.

In fact, 2010 is the only year since 1985 that Rocky Top was coming off a winning season and not in the top 25 the next year. However, that season made sense, as UT had gone 7-6 the year before with Lane Kiffin and then suffered a major setback when Kiffin left for the USC Trojans and they brought in Derek Dooley.

Now, you may say that seasons as mediocre as 7-6 are what don’t warrant top 25 rankings the next year. However, UT went 7-5 in 1986 and entered 1987 in the top 20 of both polls. They also went 7-6 in 2014 and entered 2015 ranked No. 25 in both polls.

Overall, this is the 25th time since the end of the 1985 season that they had a winning record the year before and entered the season with a new head coach, and the previous 24 times, they entered that year in the top 25. As a result, it’s safe to say this is a shock.

However, on the other hand, 1985 being the last time this happened could be a good sign for Tennessee football. After all, the Vols did win the SEC Championship that year and upset the Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl to finish 9-1-2 and in the top five. They had gone 7-4-1 the previous year.

Looking at these rankings, the Vols clearly have a rough schedule on paper. They face two of the top three teams, hosting the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and visiting the No. 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Those were going to be expected, though.

Meanwhile, UT visits the Pittsburgh Panthers, who came in at No. 16, for their second game of the year. They also have the Kentucky Wildcats, who came in at No. 21, in Knoxville. These rankings would suggest Alabama, Georgia and Pitt all losses with Kentucky a toss-up.

Opponents of the Vols who are behind them include the LSU Tigers at No. 30. Since Heupel’s team travels to Baton Rouge, even with them having a first-year head coach in Brian Kelly, that game would also be considered a toss-up.

Still, these rankings suggest the range for the Vols is 7-5 to 9-3, and they would have all three non-Power Five games plus the Vanderbilt Commodores, Missouri Tigers, South Carolina Gamecocks and yes, Florida Gators as circled wins. That would seem to suggest a step forward for Tennessee football, but only time will tell.