Tennessee’s streak of weeks ranked inside the AP Top 25 poll has officially come to a close.
The Tennessee Volunteers have fallen out of the AP Top 25 rankings on Sunday after defeating Vanderbilt 48-24 on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.
Tennessee was ranked at No. 25 entering the Vanderbilt game on Saturday. The Vols are the first team on the outside looking in, though, sitting with 98 receiving votes. With Tennessee as the final team in the rankings last week and a not-so-impressive opponent in Vanderbilt, it seemed likely that Tennessee could drop out – even with a 24-point win.
Josh Heupel’s Vols were ranked in 28 consecutive AP Polls dating back to Week 2 of the 2022 season.
Tennessee is still alive and hanging on in the Coaches Poll at the No. 23 slot, which was unchanged with the win over Vanderbilt. We’ll find out where Tennessee lands in the College Football Playoff rankings this Tuesday night during the ESPN announcement broadcast.
Here’s the kicker. Tennessee finished the regular season with an 8-4 record and there is only one team left in the rankings with four losses – Oregon State. The final five teams in this week’s rankings include NC State (9-3), Oregon State (8-4), Toledo (11-1), James Madison (11-1), and SMU (10-2).
Tennessee’s late-season two-game slide against Missouri and Georgia really hurt their chances to stay in the AP Top 25 by the end of the regular season. The Vols fell from No. 14 to No. 21 after the Missouri loss and dropped from No. 21 to No. 25 after the Georgia loss. All in all, the Vols dropped 11 spots in a matter of two weeks with only a game against Vanderbilt left on the schedule at the time.
Here’s a look at how Tennessee’s AP Top 25 rankings have shaken out this season:
- Week One: 12
- Week Two: 9
- Week Three: 11
- Week Four: 23
- Week Five: 21
- Week Six: 22
- Week Seven: 19
- Week Eight: 17
- Week Nine: 21
- Week Ten: 19
- Week Eleven: 14
- Week Twelve: 21
- Week Thirteen: 25
- Week Fourteen: N/A
More from RTI: Tennessee Quarterback Nico Iamaleava Finds First SEC Game Experience Against Vanderbilt
Fortunately for Tennessee, though, the season isn’t over. The Vols still have another opportunity to build offseason momentum with a bowl game later this winter against an opponent to be named at a later time and date. One of the Florida-based bowl games seems to be a likely landing spot, but we’ll know more here in a week.
With Tennessee dropping out of the rankings, only five teams from the SEC remain in the AP Top 25 from Sunday: No. 1 Georgia, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Missouri, No. 11 Ole Miss, and No. 13 LSU.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider this Tuesday night to see where Tennessee lands in the College Football Playoff rankings, and if the Vols can stay in the poll after being ranked at No. 21 for the Vanderbilt game.
For a complete look at this week’s AP Top 25 poll, click here.
3 Responses
I just don’t understand when a player doesn’t meet the standards of the game, before halftime, need to make changes immediately. Need to move players to best fit game but on practice days . Don’t need to keep playing the same players and loosing the game.
I seen that coming, when you have a qb that is a coin flip statics of showing up and never does against a ranked opponent 4 quarters! I quit watching after Alabama that game was won until he did nothing after half time and the defense gave out after 3 and out every possession but Nico is consistent and hopefully has learned the offense this season! His pass might not go 90 yards but it is accurate and definitely not 10 yards over the receivers head with horrible release points! Foot work is half the battle!Michigan put it out there.Joe Milton could be a great qb if he puts the work in,it is all release point his foot work is great on his dropback but 1 game looks great next can’t get a 1st down. I hope he gets it together in the NFL . He is a Athlete so he will get the chance maybe like cobb at Green Bay he might be a WR and just never got to try it! I am pulling for him he has all the talent to be Great!
Vols fans can barely speak English.