A week ago, the College Football Playoff committee revealed its initial rankings for the 2025 season. This featured Tennessee football clocking in at No. 25 off the heels of a deflating third loss to Oklahoma.
Following the Vols’ bye week, Tennessee is on the move. UT is now at No. 23 in the CFP rankings.
This is the eighth-highest mark in the SEC. The Vols come in behind No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 10 Texas, No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 14 Vanderbilt.
Notre Dame vs. Oregon headlines the CFP committee’s second bracket release 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HZe1NdRrgn
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 12, 2025
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It’s the 20th straight week that Tennessee has been in the College Football Playoff rankings, dating back to the final rankings of the 2021 season. Tennessee came in at No. 1 in the initial CFP rankings of the 2022 season, No. 17 in the initial rankings during the 2023 season and No. 7 in the initial rankings of the 2024 season.
Josh Heupel’s team made the 12-team College Football Playoffs a season ago by posting a 10-2 (6-2 SEC record). Tennessee landed at No. 7 in the final rankings, which earned them the 9-seed in the playoffs and a road trip to eventual national champion Ohio State.
The Vols jumped out to a 5-1 start of the 2025 season but have dropped two of their last three games. Self-inflicted mistakes cost Tennessee badly in a road loss at Alabama and again vs. Oklahoma. Tennessee gave up a pair of defensive touchdowns in both games while combining for four turnovers and a safety.
Tennessee was off this past week and will now face New Mexico State on the third Saturday in November. Kickoff with NMSU is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. ET on SEC Network. The Vols conclude the regular season with a road trip to Florida and a home matchup with in-state rival Vanderbilt.
