Tennessee football moved up one spot to No. 5 in this week’s AP poll following its SEC opening win over then-No. 15 Oklahoma on Saturday night in Norman.
POLL ALERT: Tennessee rises to No. 5 and Boise State enters the AP Top 25 college football poll for the first time since 2020.
Full poll: https://t.co/7dTTUiSC1j pic.twitter.com/uhy83tqEMO
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) September 22, 2024
Two teams ranked ahead of Tennessee in the AP poll last week had open dates (Alabama and Georgia) while the three other teams took care of business against teams they were vastly superior to (Texas, Ohio State and Ole Miss). However, with Tennessee picking up an impressive, top 15 road win, the Vols moved ahead of the Rebels.
Oklahoma fell six spots to No. 21 in the AP poll following the loss but is still one of nine SEC teams in the top 25. Other SEC teams in the top 25 include No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 11 Missouri, No. 14 LSU and No. 24 Texas A&M.
The Vols only two remaining games against teams currently in the top 25 are a home matchup against Alabama and a road trip to Georgia.
More From RTI: PFF Grades From Tennessee’s Win At Oklahoma
Tennessee’s win over Oklahoma marked its first road win over a top 15 team since 2006 when Phillip Fulmer and the Vols knocked off Georgia in Athens. Ironically, Tennessee’s win over Oklahoma was more of a 2006 college football win and then the Vols win in Athens nearly two decades ago was.
The 2006 Vols hung half a hundred points in a shootout win over the Bulldogs. But offensive guru Josh Heupel leaned on his defense against Oklahoma and called a conservative game as Tennessee earned a 25-15 win on the road.
Tennessee’s defensive line dominated up front, recording three sacks and 11 tackles for loss while holding the Sooners to just 36 rushing yards.
Tennessee now approaches its first open date of the season as they look to get healthy, particularly along the offensive line. The Vols return to the field in two weeks when they face Arkansas in Fayetteville.
