For a lot of Tennessee fans, this feels like a bad dream. Unfortunately, it wasn't, as a 27-24 loss to South Carolina on the road was posted, with Shane Beamer making things worse by talking a bit of smack, too. Come Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, you can fully expect the Vols to be penalized via the AP Top 25 poll.
How bad is it going to be? We won't know for sure until it's released, but keep in mind that Tennessee 100 percent would have been in the Top 10 had the Vols taken care of business against the Gamecocks - No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 8 Texas Tech both suffered losses. Just brutal.
Prediction the new AP Top 25 poll after Week 8 games
- Miami
- Ohio State
- Notre Dame
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Utah (If it beats Houston - game still in progress)
- UCLA
- BYU
- Kentucky
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- LSU
- Wake Forest
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Houston (it it loses to Utah - game still in progress)
- Boise State
- Missouri
- Florida
- SMU
- Northwestern
- Iowa
- Arizona
- Wisconsin
- USC
The Tennessee loss to South Carolina must serve as a major wakeup call
Sure, things could be worse if the Vols only drop four spots to No. 15. We can only hope the voters keep in mind that Tennessee was on the verge of a win, but it took a miracle finish from South Carolina to pull this off.
In our previous pieces, we've continued to bring up the 12 penalties for 90 yards in the defeat. Just terrible stuff. The three touchdowns called back? Deflating. The Vols indeed would be in the Top 10 with a win, potentially as high as No. 8, but that's just not going to be the case.
At the top, Miami will remain the No. 1 spot after taking down Pitt in style at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday. No. 2 BYU suffered just an inexcusable loss to UCF, meaning it will take a bit of a tumble - just one week after shocking Notre Dame. Ohio State was on a BYE, but will check in at No. 2, while Notre Dame will move on up to No. 3.
For the rest of the Top 5, look for Georgia, on a bye, and Indiana, which took down Michigan in a thriller, to close things out. Behind those five squads, there's total madness being featured, as in the SEC alone it's tough to keep track of which teams have beaten up on one another.
Kentucky potentially jumping up to No. 9 is good news for the Vols, as the Wildcats will head to Knoxville in Week 10 for a must-win game for Tennessee. With a victory, Josh Heupel and his players will not only get back to winning ways, but also keep their CFP hopes alive.
Yes, the loss to South Carolina dealt this team with a bit of a setback, but closing out the year with four straight wins is still something that can happen. And if it does, the Vols will have a great chance of reaching the CFP. For now, though, Tennessee will have to deal with the consequences of blowing it against the Gamecocks.
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