Tennessee football came in at No. 24 in the preseason AP Poll Monday afternoon. It’s the Vols’ lowest ranking in the preseason AP Poll since they came in unranked in the 2022 preseason poll.
Josh Heupel’s fifth Tennessee team is the 10th highest rated SEC team in the poll, coming in behind No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Georgia, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 LSU, No. 13 South Carolina, No. 15 Florida, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 21 Ole Miss.
Tennessee has a very manageable schedule, facing just four teams in the preseason AP Poll— Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Oklahoma. No other team on Tennessee’s schedule even received a vote.
The media is ower on the Vols than the coaches. Tennessee came in at the No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches Poll last week.
Tennessee is coming off a 2024 season where they posted a 10-3 (6-2 SEC) record and was one of three teams that made the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. The Vols earned wins over rivals Alabama and Florida to land as the No. 9 seed in the playoffs. Their season came to an end with a lopsided loss against future national champion Ohio State in the first round of the playoffs.
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The Vols are the second lowest rated team in the AP Poll amongst teams that made the College Football Playoffs a season ago. Only Boise State came in behind Tennessee in the preseason AP Pol at No. 25
It’s been a tumultuous offseason for Tennessee. The Vols lost a number of contributors to the transfer portal in December and then starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to the transfer portal following spring practice.
Tennessee passing game was already a question before Iamaleava transferred and his departure heightened that. Quarterbacks Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre are competing for the starting quarterback job while the Vols are also young and inexperienced at receiver.
Tennessee opens up its 2025 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 against Syracuse at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Vols are currently two touchdown favorites in that game according to multiple sportsbooks.
