Tennessee enjoyed the prestige that came with being a top-10 team for all of one week to start the college football season.
The Vols tumbled from No. 10 to No. 14 and from No. 9 to No. 17 in the Coaches’ and AP Poll, respectively, after a sloppy season-opening 20-13 overtime win over Appalachian State on Thursday. UT fell all the way to No. 23, while Appalachian State climbed to No. 39 in a the 1-128 poll released by CBSSports.com on Tuesday as well. The Mountaineers received one vote in the Coaches’ Poll as well, tying them for 47th in the nation there.
But the fall in the AP Poll is the biggest news as voters around the nation seemed largely unimpressed with UT’s opener. The first poll of the regular season is one of the trickiest to predict with voters having to combine preseason expectations with a very limited sample size on the field.
All that to say, more fluctuation will certainly come in the next few weeks and UT, set to face Virginia Tech, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M and Alabama in the next six weeks should have every opportunity to either rocket back up the polls or fade into oblivion.
Here’s a look at the full AP Poll., which still has UT as the third-best team in the SEC.
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Florida State
4. Ohio State
5. Michigan
6. Houston
7. Stanford
8. Washington
9. Georgia
10. Wisconsin
11. Texas
12. Michigan State
13. Louisville
14. Oklahoma
15. TCU
16. Iowa
17. Tennessee
18. Notre Dame
19. Ole Miss
20. Texas A&M
21. LSU
22. Oklahoma State
23. Baylor
24. Oregon
25. Miami
