USA Today doesn’t seem to be buying the Vols hype as much as some other preseason polls.
Tennessee came in No. 33 in the nation in USA Today’s updated preseason poll, behind teams such as Cincinnati and North Carolina, and barely edging out teams such as Western Kentucky, Memphis, Minnesota and some other less-than-traditionally-powerful programs around the nation.
Tennessee came in eighth in the SEC, behind Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia, Missouri, LSU and Arkansas. This poll wasn’t as impressed with the SEC overall, only putting five SEC teams in the Top 25, leaving teams such as LSU, UT and Arkansas out, and putting South Carolina, Texas A&M and Mississippi State in the 40s. Florida, Kentucky and Vanderbilt are all out of the top 65, with the Commodores coming in near the very bottom nationally at No. 121 out of 128 teams at the FBS level.
The Amway Coaches Poll, which is hosted by USA Today, had more confidence in the Vols, putting Tennessee at No. 25, giving the Vols their first preseason ranking in that poll since 2007.
Here’s the full updated USA Today Preseason Poll.
