Did not play
Surviving Florida still has Tennessee football fans riding high after their bye week. However, they had to drop in our SEC Power Rankings because of what other teams did. Also, the Vols’ quality wins aren’t looking as good right now. The Pittsburgh Panthers just lost to a horrible Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets team, and we still don’t know about Florida.
Combine that with the way the Florida game ended, in an almost-loss, and there’s enough that other teams did that we moved them to No. 3. Still, Josh Heupel’s program is in the top 10, and he has things rolling. Unlike UGA, there are no significant concerns yet with this ranking.
Also, there is no reason to complain about it. The Vols are undefeated and way ahead of where they expected to be at this point when Heupel took over in 2021. There’s an outside chance they enter the national playoff picture, which they have never done since it went into effect.
That outside chance hinges on the next two weeks. A visit to LSU this Saturday is a huge game and probably their best chance ever to win in Death Valley. Then they could be in the top 10 hosting Alabama the next week. Of course, then they have the UT-Martin Skyhawks before hosting Kentucky. If Tennessee football beats LSU and UK, November will be epic.