Tennessee is sort of flying under the radar as the college football landscape nears the midway point of the season. Josh Heupel’s Vols are at No. 15 for the fourth straight week in the AP Poll as the team enters a bye week before returning to SEC play in a potential revenge game against Arkansas in Knoxville.
That’ll soon change, though. Tennessee faces some big tests in the next 30 days with a road trip to Alabama, a home game against Oklahoma, and two SEC matchups against Arkansas and Kentucky. By the end of the day on Nov. 1, when the Vols take on the Sooners, we should have a much better idea about where Tennessee’s position in the College Football Playoff race lands.
Flying under the radar isn’t a bad thing, though. For one, it means that Tennessee isn’t on the negative end of any major talking points like Penn State or LSU. The Vols haven’t been perfect this season, but they kept the door to the playoffs alive by avoiding a second loss before October ball even rolls around.
Tennessee’s win over Mississippi State was a significant one, but it’s not a contest that has garnered a lot of attention considering the other major storylines around the sport last weekend. Still, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit is content with what he’s seen from Josh Heupel’s team. Herbstreit saw the Vols up close during his call of the Tennessee-Georgia game in Week 3.
While running down the latest AP Top 25 Poll on Monday’s episode of ‘Nonstop’ with Joey Galloway, Herbstreit made a quick mention of the Volunteers.
“Tennessee, I really like the Vols,” Herbstreit said. “I think they’re good.”
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Barring an upset loss to the Razorbacks next weekend, there may not be a ton of national talk around Tennessee over the next two weeks with the Vols on a bye week and the unranked SEC opponent. That will all change for the Third Saturday in October, though.
Alabama will host Tennessee on Oct. 18 in Bryant-Denny Stadium in what will prove to be a pivotal game for Tennessee’s playoff chances. It could either be a statement win for Josh Heupel’s group or a second SEC loss for the Vols, setting up the need to go undefeated for the rest of the schedule to truly stay alive in the playoff hunt.
Tennessee can’t look past Arkansas to Alabama, but the media certainly can. It’ll be no surprise to anyone if the longtime rivalry between Tennessee and Alabama carries massive playoff implications for both sides.
No. 15 Tennessee has an open date this weekend before returning to SEC play with a home game against Arkansas on Oct. 11 at 4:15 p.m. ET in Neyland Stadium. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football coverage.
Here’s the clip of Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway’s full Top 25 breakdown on the ‘Nonstop’ podcast:
