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Tennessee football: Did Akron win help Vols at all in Week 3 SEC Power Rankings?

By Caleb Calhoun

Teammates celebrate after Tennessee wide receiver Ramel Keyton (80) scores a touchdown during Tennessee's football game against Akron in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.Kns Ut Akron Football
Teammates celebrate after Tennessee wide receiver Ramel Keyton (80) scores a touchdown during Tennessee's football game against Akron in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.Kns Ut Akron Football /
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Quarterback Will Rogers throws a pass as the LSU Tigers take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.Lsu Vs Miss State Football 0453Syndication The Daily Advertiser
Quarterback Will Rogers throws a pass as the LSU Tigers take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.Lsu Vs Miss State Football 0453Syndication The Daily Advertiser /

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Lost to LSU Tigers 31-16

If there’s one reason to be thrilled about Tennessee football not hiring Mike Leach, it’s what happened last Saturday night. Now, this may be because Leach has always coached at places short on talent, but he is regularly prone to bad upsets. After a blowout win over the Memphis Tigers and Arizona Cardinals to open the year, he had one Saturday.

Okay, to be fair, it wasn’t really an upset. LSU is still a good team, and they were playing at home on a Saturday night. Of course that set them up perfectly for the win, but the level of dominance they showed and the way Mississippi State’s offense sputtered is what really stood out.

That was enough to drop Mississippi State just below average in our SEC Power Rankings. To be fair, both Arizona and Memphis are 2-1, so those look like better wins, and there’s no reason to write off this team under Leach completely because of one loss. They are still really good.

This schedule will make them look better for at least another week, as they’ve got the Bowling Green Falcons coming to town. Then they have two more home games in Texas A&M and Arkansas, and if they can get one of those, they’ll be in decent shape. Getting two of those will be a cause for a celebration.

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