After dropping nine spots following the loss to Oklahoma last week, Tennessee football is back on the move in the AP Poll. The Vols clock in at No. 21 after their open date, a two-spot leap from No. 23.
This is good for the eighth-best mark in the SEC. Tennessee comes in behind just No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Texas, No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 13 Vanderbilt.
The Coaches Poll rankings came out earlier on Sunday, with UT sitting at No. 20. However, most importantly, the College Football Playoff committee’s rankings will be released on Tuesday. The Vols were placed at No. 25 in the first CFP rankings last week.
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Next, Tennessee will stay in Knoxville to host its final out-of-conference game of the 2025 regular season. The Vols meet New Mexico State at 4:15 p.m. ET on Saturday inside Neyland Stadium. The game will air on SEC Network. Then, UT will face Florida on the road and Vanderbilt at home to round out the season.
Tennessee is likely eliminated from College Football Playoff contention with a 6-3 (3-3 SEC) record. However, utter chaos could still theoretically open the door; it’s just extremely unlikely.
This creates a potential motivation challenge for Josh Heupel’s team going forward. He’ll need to get his team ready for what should be an easy win against NMSU before the final two SEC games. When the Vols go to Florida, they’ll play a reeling Gators team, but it’s been an issue to win there historically. When Vanderbilt comes to town, it could be a win-and-in game for the Commodores’ playoff hopes, just like it was when Tennessee won in Nashville a year ago.
