Tennessee dropped three spots in the AP Poll on Sunday afternoon after the Vols’ 23-17 victory over Florida in overtime on Saturday night in Knoxville.
The Vols fell from No. 8 to No. 11 in the AP poll ahead of their rivalry game against Alabama next weekend in Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee also dropped in the USA Today Coaches Poll after the win, falling from No. 9 to No. 10 in the rankings.
The Vols have spent the last five straight weeks in the AP Top 10 and have not been outside of the Top 10 since Week 2.
Tennessee Football AP/Coaches Rankings – 2024
- Week 1: #15/#15 (Result: Defeated Chattanooga 69-3)
- Week 2: #14/#12 (Result: Defeated #24/#23 NC State 51-10)
- Week 3: #7/#9 (Result: Defeated Kent State 71-0)
- Week 4: #6/#7 (Result: Defeated #15/#13 Oklahoma 25-15)
- Week 5: #5/#6 (Result: BYE)
- Week 6: #4/#4 (Result: Loss to Arkansas 19-14)
- Week 7: #8/#9 (Result: Defeated Florida 23-17 OT)
- Week 8: #11/#10 (Up Next: vs No. 7 Alabama)
More from RTI: Frustration Clear For Tennessee’s Offense Amidst Extended Struggles
Tennessee has now dropped in two straight AP polls following a pair of challenging unranked games. The Vols took their first loss of the season last weekend at Arkansas and picked up an overtime win against Florida on Saturday despite it being a battle throughout the whole contest.
All eyes now turn to Tennessee’s upcoming Third Saturday in October game against Alabama. The Crimson Tide are in a similar boat to Tennessee with two straight difficult weeks against unranked opponents. Alabama suffered their first loss of the season last weekend against Vanderbilt and barely survived South Carolina this past weekend in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide will enter next week’s rivalry game at No. 7 in the AP Poll.
Tennessee is the fifth highest-ranked team from the SEC in the rankings behind No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Alabama, and No. 8 LSU.
The Vols were jumped by LSU after the Tigers’ win over Ole Miss on Saturday. Iowa State also jumped over Tennessee following a win at West Virginia. Tennessee also fell behind Clemson, who remained unchanged at No. 10 after an open date for the Tigers on Saturday.
No. 11 Tennessee will host No. 7 Alabama in the Third Saturday in October rivalry game this Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET in Knoxville, TN.
Check out the full Week 8 AP Poll here.
3 Responses
Corrupt pollsters still have their favorite loser up there huh? There should be a jury to vote these disingenuous voters off the voting boards.
Tell me how the worst record of all top 25 teams at 4-2 is good enough for 24th place yet there are 6-0 teams not in the top 25. Michigan’s record IS their record, and it is not good enough for Top 25. Shame on these voting coaches.
This is why we fell. 2 or 3 beat writers from obscure backgrounds. I asked a friend from the Athletic to find out who it was. The Athletic’s Matt Brown and New Jersey Advance Media’s Brian Fonseca both have the Vols at No. 16 on their AP Top 25 ballots. CBS Austin’s Bob Ballou has Tennessee at No. 15 on his ballot. Intellectual decisions replaced by personal opinions. All media is lost, we’ve know that. Now, it is in sports. Witness the ESPN’s talking heads extravagant NY Bias (mostly NBA / NFL).