It’s been a long time coming. After beating the Alabama Crimson Tide 52-49 Saturday, Tennessee football was able to do something it hasn’t done in years and in one case decades. The Vols are finally in the top five of both major polls.
UT, now 6-0 for the first time since 1998 and 3-0 in the SEC, came in at No. 3 in the AP Poll, a three-spot jump from last week. Meanwhile, they came in at No. 4 in the Coaches Poll, a four-spot jump from where they were last week.
Ahead of Tennessee football in both polls were the Georgia Bulldogs at No. 1 and the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 2. The Michigan Wolverines were also ahead of them in the Coaches Poll at No. 3. UT leapfrogged Alabama and the Clemson Tigers in both polls.
This is the first time since 2005 that the Vols are in the top five of either poll. They opened that year ranked No. 3 in both polls and dropped out after losing to Florida, and first-year head coach Urban Meyer, in the third week of the season.
Before that, they were in the top five through the first four weeks of 2002, before losing to Florida in that one as well. Simply put, the last two times they were in the top five, it was due to preseason rankings before they ever played a Power Five team.
The last time Tennessee football was in the top five this late in the season was 2001, when they reached as high as No. 2 at the end of the regular season after beating Florida on the road. They haven’t been this close this late since reaching No. 7 in November of 2003 after their huge win on the road against the Miami Hurricanes.
Simply put, this is the first time in two decades you could say that the Vols have actually earned a top five ranking, which shows just how far they have come in two years under Josh Heupel. Nobody knew back in 2001 that would be the last time they were this relevant on the national scene this late in the scene.
Remember, the Vols were relevant like this in mid to late October in 2001, 1999, 1998, 1997 and 1995. It was a common theme for them during their heyday, but then it fell apart after 2001. That’s actually the last year they even finished in the top 10.
Going forward, this level of success suggests Rocky Top will also be relevant in the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time ever. Those will come out the Tuesday before their matchup at Georgia, which could be a monumental matchup.
At this point, Tennessee football may end up in the playoff even if they lose that game to Georgia, as all signs point to them finishing the regular season no worse than 11-1. They have consistently exorcised demons under Heupel this year, and this was a new one.