Tennessee football: Drop to No. 5 in polls exactly what Vols wanted

Questions were abound Saturday night about Tennessee football. There was legitimate reason to wonder, after they were destroyed by the Georgia Bulldogs on the road in a 27-13 game that wasn’t even that close, if they were a legitimate top five team.

Well, the voters in all the polls outside of the College Football Playoff, at least to this point, think so. The Vols came in at No. 5 in both polls. That’s a drop of three spots in the AP Poll, where they were tied for No. 2 with the Ohio State Buckeyes last week, and a drop of two spots in the Coaches Poll.

Most importantly, though, was who was ahead of them. Perhaps this was helped by the Alabama Crimson Tide losing to the LSU Tigers, but at the very least, the voters believe in setting up an inevitability that Tennessee football reaches the College Football Playoff if it wins out.

Ahead of the Vols are Georgia at No. 1, which makes sense, the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 2 and the Michigan Wolverines at No. 3. The TCU Horned Frogs, who barely escaped the Texas Tech Red Raiders, came in at No. 4. UT couldn’t have asked for a better setup.

Michigan and Ohio State play each other, so one of those teams is bound to fall below the Vols if both stay below Georgia. Meanwhile, the Vols are bound to move ahead of TCU if Sonny Dykes’ team loses even one game, meaning the crucial thing for UT is to just keep winning.

There’s also the increased likelihood that so many of these other one-loss teams lose. Taking that all into account combined with the fact that the Vols have no ranked teams left on their schedule, they are in perfect position to move up these polls once again.

By the way, in case you’re interested, it’s the first time in school history that Tennessee football remained in the top five the week after losing a game. That should give you an idea of how much of a leap they have taken since Josh Heupel has become their head coach.

Equally as important, the ranking of other teams shows just how elite the Vols’ resume is. The LSU Tigers, after beating the Alabama Crimson Tide, are No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll. Alabama is No. 10 in the AP Poll and No. 11 in the Coaches Poll.

Meanwhile, the Kentucky Wildcats got back into the top 25 of the Coaches Poll, at No. 24, and the Pittsburgh Panthers are back to receiving votes in the Coaches Poll. Don’t sleep on the Florida Gators creeping back in there either.

These new rankings just happen to show a great resume for Tennessee football and a level of respect for the Vols that many pollsters don’t seem to show. As a result, Rocky Top has a lot going for it despite the brutal loss at Georgia.