Tennessee football had multiple opportunities to make it interesting in Tuscaloosa, but failed to seize the moments. Instead, the Vols fell to Alabama 37-20 on Saturday. On Sunday, the Coaches Poll was refreshed following the weekend of results across college football. UT clocked ranked at No. 17.
This is a six-spot drop from a week ago. The Vols were jumped by Virginia, Missouri, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and BYU in the poll.
Tennessee ranks as the eighth-best team in the SEC now. The top-ranked team in the conference is Texas A&M at No. 3 followed by Alabama at No. 4, Georgia at No. 5, Ole Miss at No. 8, Oklahoma at No. 11, Vanderbilt at No. 12 and Missouri at No. 14.
The top-ranked team in the country is Ohio State at No. 1, followed by Indiana at No. 2.
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Tennessee fell into a seven-point hole at Alabama, but responded with a touchdown to tie the game. The Vols got the ball back with the chance to take the lead, but Joey Aguilar was sacked for a safety. The Tide responded with a touchdown to make it a 16-7 advantage late in the second quarter.
Tennessee got the ball down to the goalline, though, just ahead of the half. However, in a jumbo package, the Vols attempted to throw it and it was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. This made it a 23-7 score at the break.
Despite the gut-punching swing, Tennessee’s defense came out and got a stop out of the half. The Vols added a touchdown on offense to bring it back within 10. With chances to cut deeper into the lead, UT continued to get in its own way, though. The result was a comfortable Alabama win.
Joey Aguilar finished with 268 passing yards and a touchdown and an interception on 28-for-44 passing. DeSean Bishop ran for 123 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns. Braylon Staley caught 10 passes for 92 yards and a score.
Next, Tennessee travels to play Kentucky at 7:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network this Saturday.
