On Saturday night, Tennessee football had plenty of chances to win, but couldn’t get out of its own way. The result was a 33-27 loss to Oklahoma inside Neyland Stadium. On Sunday, the weekly Coaches Poll refreshed, dropping the Vols eight spots.
Now, Tennessee is the No. 22 team in the country in the rankings with a 6-3 record. The Vols’ remaining schedule following this week’s open date is New Mexico State, at Florida and Vanderbilt.
Tennessee’s position in the Coaches Poll is good for the ninth-best spot in the SEC. Conference foes in front of UT include Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Vanderbilt and Missouri. That features all three losses on the Vols’ schedule to this point, with Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma the trio of defeats.
The poll is led by Ohio State at No. 1, followed by Indiana at No. 2. Then, it’s the trio of SEC teams Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia to round out the top five.
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The Vols struck first in the game vs. Oklahoma, pulling ahead 7-0 after the opening drive. However, Joey Aguilar was strip-sacked with the ball returned by R Mason Thomas for a touchdown to tie the game. The Vols pulled back ahead with a field goal, but allowed three-straight field goals to give OU a 16-10 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Tennessee got off the field and scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive to go up 17-16. The Sooners responded with a touchdown to take a lead that they did not give up, though. The Vols’ next score wouldn’t come until there were under two minutes in the game.
Tennessee had a chance to get off the field and give the offense the ball down just two points, but a busted run on the first play of the following drive led to John Mateer punching it in himself on the next play. The Vols scored a touchdown afterward, but it was too little too late.
This essentially eliminates Tennessee from the College Football Playoffs in its bid to make it in back-to-back years after the expansion to 12 teams in the field.
