Where Tennessee Football is ranked in the Preseason Coaches Poll
Tennessee Football came in at No. 15 in the Preseason Coaches Poll on Monday. Georgia is No. 1, ahead of Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and Alabama. Ole Miss came in at No. 6, ahead of Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State and Florida State.
Four teams on Tennessee’s 2024 schedule were ranked, starting with No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama. The Vols also play No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 22 North Carolina State.
Nine SEC teams in total were ranked: No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 11 Missouri, No. 12 LSU, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 20 Texas A&M.
Tennessee finished 17th in the Coaches Poll last season, after capping a 9-4 season with the 35-0 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day in Orlando.
The Vols started at No. 10 in the preseason coaches poll last August and moved up as high as No. 9. They dropped to No. 20 after the loss at Florida and were back up to No. 12 to start November, before the home loss to Georgia.
Season Opener: Tennessee vs. Chattanooga, Aug. 31, 12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Tennessee opens the season against Chattanooga on August 31 (12:45 p.m. Eastern Time, TV: SEC Network) and faces North Carolina State on September 7 in Charlotte (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC),
After hosting Kent State on September 14, the Vols open SEC play with road games at Oklahoma (September 21) and at Arkansas (October 5).
Tennessee hosts Florida and Alabama back-to-back on October 12 and October 19, respectively, then has home games against Kentucky (November 2) and Mississippi State (November 9) before going to Georgia on November 16.
Vols ranked No. 9 overall in ESPN’s Football Power Index
Tennessee came in at No. 9 overall in ESPN’s first FPI update for the 2024 season, with a projected record of 8.6-3.5. The Vols have a 95.4% chance to win six games or more and a 36.9% chance to make the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The FPI gives Tennessee a 5.5% chance to win the SEC, a 6.0% chance to make the national championship game and a 2.7% chance to win the national title.
ESPN last week listed the Vols as one of 30 teams that could reach the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Senior writer Heather Dinich on Thursday listed Tennessee ninth, coming in behind Georgia, Oregon, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Alabama and Missouri.
“Tennessee should be better than it was last year on both offense and defense,” Dinich wrote, “but it still might be a three-loss team on the bubble because the schedule is so challenging.”
