Tennessee football moved up two spots in the latest edition of the AP Poll on Tuesday afternoon. Josh Heupel’s Vols now land at No. 22 in the Week 2 AP rankings ahead of their Saturday afternoon home-opener against ETSU at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Tennessee is the 10th highest-ranked team from the SEC heading into the second week of the college football season. The Vols sit behind No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Georgia, No. 7 Texas, No. 10 South Carolina, No. 13 Florida, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 20 Ole Miss, and No. 21 Alabama.
The Vols’ AP Poll slot is lower than their position on the USA Today Coaches Poll, which landed at No. 17 on Tuesday afternoon.
2⃣2⃣ in the AP Poll#GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/jBEs7W23eD
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 2, 2025
The excitement is high around Tennessee football heading into Week 2 after a solid performance from quarterback Joey Aguilar in his debut with the Big Orange against the Syracuse Orange last weekend in Atlanta, GA. He won a quarterback battle in fall camp over Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre, but there were still questions as to what he would actually look like on the field at the Power 4 level.
Aguilar answered those questions by throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 45-26 win over Syracuse. The 6-foot-3 quarterback looked poised in the pocket while running Josh Heupel’s offense. His highlight play of the day came on a 73-yard touchdown bomb to wide receiver Braylon Staley, which was the longest touchdown reception in the SEC during the Week 1 slate.
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Tennessee will host in-state foe ETSU in its home opener at Neyland Stadium this weekend, leading into a high-profile SEC opener in Knoxville next weekend. The Vols’ Week 3 opponent is none other than border rival Georgia as the Vols welcome the Bulldogs into town. Saturday’s game against the Buccaneers should make for a good tune-up game as the Vols prepare for its highest-ranked opponent of the season on Sept. 13.
“A good chance this week to open it up at home,” Josh Heupel said on Monday about the Vols’ upcoming game. “First experience for a bunch of our guys on game day inside that stadium with packed house and first Vol Walk. So, look forward to seeing all of our fans… ETSU, you look at how they performed on Saturday. A bunch of yards, a bunch of points. And did some really good things on the defensive side of the ball, too.”
Here’s a look at where the SEC teams landed in the AP Poll after a thrilling opening weekend of college football around the nation:
SEC Teams in the Week 2 AP Poll
- No. 3 LSU
- No. 4 Georgia
- No. 7 Texas
- No. 10 South Carolina
- No. 13 Florida
- No. 18 Oklahoma
- No. 19 Texas A&M
- No. 20 Ole Miss
- No. 21 Alabama
- No. 22 Tennessee
