Tennessee football took a significant dive in ESPN College Football’s Power Rankings following its 37-20 loss at Alabama on Saturday night. The Vols dropped seven spots from No. 11 to No. 18 in the power rankings after suffering their second loss of the season.
No one ranked in the top 25 of the power rankings fell further than Tennessee for its loss against Alabama. However, LSU fell 13 spots completely out of the rankings following its loss at Vanderbilt. Other big fallers in the week eight power rankings included Ole Miss after losing to Georgia and Texas Tech after losing to Arizona State.
Tennessee trailed from early on against Alabama but it was the 99-yard pick six on the last play of the first half that proved to be the backbreaker. A potential 14-point swing kept turned what was nearly a 16-14 halftime difference into a 23-7 halftime deficit that Tennessee was unable to overcome.
“While the Vols held Alabama to under 400 yards of offense in a 37-20 loss, there were also too many big plays given up — particularly on key downs,” ESPN’s Eli Lederman wrote. “Joey Aguilar has been steady, but he has also had turnovers at crucial moments in games. It happened again Saturday — Alabama got him to intentionally ground the ball for a safety, and then a 99-yard pick-sick at the end of the first half ultimately doomed them. The run game is not nearly as productive as a year ago either, and the combination of all three has hurt the Vols in some big-time moments.
The Vols now boast a 5-2 (2-2 SEC) record with rivalry losses against Georgia and Alabama. Tennessee’s College Football Playoff hopes hang in the balance with the Vols needing to run the table the rest of the season if they’re going to make it back to the College Football Playoffs.
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According to the ESPN SP+ rankings, Tennessee boasts the nation’s No. 4 offense and No. 44 defense this season. It’s a near flip-flop from last season and with how the SP+ rankings projected Tennessee to perform on both sides of the field this season.
“If there is one key difference between the Vols this year and last year, it is their defense,” Lederman wrote. “Simply put, Tennessee is not as consistent on that side of the ball as it needs to be — ranking among the worst in the SEC in a host of categories”
But Tennessee’s issues are not just about its defense. The Vols have not played complimentary football for a good deal of this season with the offense struggling to capitalize when the defense forces turnovers and the defense struggling to get off the field on third down.
With their College Football Playoff chances on the brink, the Vols travel to Lexington to face Kentucky on Saturday night. The Wildcats are still searching for their first SEC win of the season after falling to Texas in overtime a week ago.
Kickoff from Kroger field is at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers and Cole Cubelic are on the call for the SEC Network.
