With the release of the Preseason AP Top 25, we all knew Tennessee football would be on the outside looking in of the Top 15 or so. The sweet spot felt like it would be in the No. 16-18 range. However, the Vols came in at No. 24? Give us a break.
We know preseason rankings won't matter once the regular season gets here, but this feels way too low for Josh Heupel and his players. Think Tennessee being the lowest-ranked SEC team is something the guys inside of the locker room are going to be annoyed by? You bet and the same should be the case for Heupel and his assistants.
The 2025 AP preseason poll pic.twitter.com/9W8a5baO1M
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 11, 2025
Tennessee ranked No. 24 in the Preseason AP Top 25 seems way too harsh
We understand that there's uncertainty at quarterback for the Vols, but the fact that they nearly fell out of the rankings here is head-scratching. As you might have been able to guess, Texas is No. 1 in the country and the Top SEC team. In terms of programs in the conference, the Longhorns are followed by Georgia, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
While we don't want to overlook Syracuse and East Tennessee State for the first two games of the season, you better believe the Preseason Top 25 has Vols fans even more fired up for the Week 3 clash vs. Georgia to get here.
It will give Heupel, Joey Aguilar (if he wins the job), Jermod McCoy and others a chance to make an early-season statement and prove to the haters that life after Nico Iamaleava won't be as bad as so many think it's going to be.
There's still plenty of time until the season does get here and the Vols have work to do to iron out some spots. The entire roster needs to look at these rankings and allow it to tick them off. Heupel won't admit the rankings upset him, but he's also going to want to continue to prove people wrong who doubt him and Tennessee as a whole.