Following Tennessee football’s 34-31 win over Arkansas at home, the Vols are on the move in the updated Coaches Poll. Tennessee is now ranked as the No. 11 team in the country. This is a one-spot move after going into the win over the Razorbacks at No. 12.
The Vols jumped Oklahoma to move up the spot. The Sooners lost to Texas and fell seven spots to No. 13. Oregon also tumbled seven spots after its loss, but remained in front of Tennessee.
The Vols rank as the No. 6 team in the SEC behind No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Georgia and No. 10 LSU. The top spot goes to Ohio State, while Miami and Indiana round out the top three.
This is also the highest mark for Tennessee this season. The Vols debuted at No. 18 to start the year before climbing up to No. 15, where is sat for nearly a month. Now, UT has strung together SEC wins and is on the climb.
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Next, the Vols will head to Alabama for a highly anticipated road game. UT opens the week as an 8.5-point favorite after going into last weekend’s slate of games as a 9.5-point dog.
So far, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is 2-2 against Alabama, but has never won in Tuscaloosa. In 2021, his team stuck around early in his first year, but Nick Saban’s squad pulled away late. In 2023, Saban’s final season, the Vols took an early lead but forfeited it in the second half.
At home, Heupel is 2-0. He won in a shootout in 2022 and behind a strong defense in 2024. The win a year ago makes him 1-0 against Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer.
Tennessee’s test this year will be in stopping a Crimson Tide offense that’s rolling. Ty Simpson seems to be hitting his stride at quarterback with a trio of elite receivers. The run game is also off to a strong start, but it remains to be seen if star back Jam Miller will be good to go.
