Tennessee moved back into the Top 20 of the AP Poll on Sunday afternoon after a 42-9 win over New Mexico State on Saturday.
The Vols’ win took them from No. 21 to No. 20 in the rankings. It’s important to note that since the introduction of the College Football Playoff rankings on November 4, the AP Rankings are no longer used in broadcasts or publications.
Tennessee entered the New Mexico State game at No. 23 in the CFP Rankings and will find out its updated spot on Tuesday night during the reveal show on ESPN.
Here’s a look at how Tennessee has fared in the AP Poll and the College Football Playoff Rankings this season:
- Week 1: No. 24
- Week 2: No. 22
- Week 3: No. 15
- Week 4: No. 15
- Week 5: No. 15
- Week 6: No. 15
- Week 7: No. 12
- Week 8: No. 11
- Week 9: No. 17
- Week 10: No. 14
- Week 11: No. 23 (CFP Ranking: No. 25)
- Week 12: No. 21 (CFP Ranking: No. 23)
- Week 13: No. 20 (CFP Ranking: TBD)
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Tennessee is now 7-3 on the season with two massive SEC games left on the regular season slate. The Vols will travel to The Swamp for a night matchup with the Florida Gators on Saturday before returning to Knoxville for a post-Thanksgiving game against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the season finale.
Tennessee opened the season with back-to-back wins over Syracuse and East Tennessee State before dropping a game to Georgia in Week 3. The Vols then rallied with three straight wins over UAB, Mississippi State, and Arkansas, but then faced a stretch of losing to Alabama, beating Kentucky, and losing to Oklahoma. Tennessee then got back in the winning column on Saturday after defeating New Mexico State following an open date.
“I thought defensively we played well in the first half getting off the field,” head coach Josh Heupel said after the win over the Aggies on Saturday. “Did a good job at the line of scrimmage handling some of the perimeter screen game really well. Offensively, a little bit up and down in the first half. Execution, really the turnovers hurt. And I thought defensively they did a good job responding to those. And then offensively getting points off the turnover and obviously Will Wright, big play in the second half too. So still a lot of things to clean up here. Get back to SEC play next week and go on the road, so get ready to go.”
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football coverage this season.
