Tennessee football went on the road and defeated an undefeated Mississippi State team in its home stadium on Saturday. It wasn’t pretty, but the Vols survived the overtime clash after suffering a late deficit in regulation, 41-34. As a result, rankings were refreshed for UT and the rest of the country.
In the AP and Coaches Poll, Tennessee stayed put at No. 15 in the country — the eighth-best mark in the SEC in both polls. However, in ESPN’s FPI ranking, which takes into account analytics, the Vols slipped four spots down to No. 13 in the rankings.
The top-ranked team in the FPI goes to Oregon after defeating Penn State on the road. Next is Ohio State, then Alabama, then Texas and then Indiana to round out the top five. The rest of the top 10 is Notre Dame, Georgia, Ole Miss, Miami and USC.
Sitting just in front of UT outside the top 10 are Penn State and Michigan. Behind Tennessee are Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Missouri.
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According to FPI, Tennessee has a 99.8% chance to win two more games and get to six wins to earn a spot in a bowl game. To win out and finish 11-1, the Vols are given a 3.2% chance.
FPI has Tennessee at a 3.5% chance to win the SEC. To make the playoffs is set at just 29.3%, as well.
If the Vols can get into the playoff picture, the odds to make the national title game are at 4.1%. To win the championship for the first time since 1998, it’s set at 1.9%.
Next, Tennessee will use an open date to get healthy and rested for the remainder of SEC play. The Vols will host Arkansas on Oct. 11 in the flex window. An exact kickoff time and TV designation will be announced later on Monday. The Razorbacks will be without their head coach, as well, as Sam Pittman was fired on Sunday after a brutal loss to Notre Dame.
