Tennessee football improved to 5-1 on Saturday with its 34-31 win over Arkansas. The Vols were on the verge of blowing the game wide open before Arkansas made a late fourth-quarter comeback attempt and brought the deficit from 17 points to 3 points.
Despite the comeback attempt, the Vols were able to fend off the Razorbacks and have jumped up one spot to No. 11 in the updated AP Poll.
BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/qn3tHYfcby pic.twitter.com/v1I9VAz4iR
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Ohio State unsurprisingly remains at No. 1 in the country. Indiana joined the top contenders at No. 3. Other notable SEC programs in the top 25 are Texas A&M at No. 4, Ole Miss at No. 5, Alabama at No. 6, Georgia at No. 9, LSU at No. 10, Oklahoma at No. 14, Missouri at No. 16, Vanderbilt at No. 17, and Texas at No. 21.
Most notably for the Vols, Alabama moves up two spots to No. 6 after surviving on the road against Missouri. The 27-24 win for the Crimson Tide keeps them undefeated in conference play and continues to establish them as one of the top teams in the SEC with three-straight ranked conference wins.
The Vols' defensive struggles are likely keeping them outside the top ten going into this week. Tennessee has allowed 36 points per game in conference play, which could be an issue against Alabama's offense.
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is hitting his stride after a slow start to the season and could take advantage of Tennessee's secondary and lack of limiting big plays to take shots on Tennessee's defense.
If he is successful, the Vols could be in for a long game on Saturday. If the Vols can address their defensive struggles this week, they could shock the country with a close road win over the Crimson Tide, as the offense has proven capable of competing with any defense in the country.