ESPN's Football Power Index predicts Tennessee's remaining schedule
Tennessee dropped two spots in both polls after the loss at Alabama last week, going down to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll and No. 21 in the AP Top 25. The Vols stuck at No. 16 overall in ESPN’s Football Power Index, though.
They analytic-based ranking system from ESPN has Tennessee (5-2, 2-2 SEC) projected to go 9-3 entering this week’s game at Kentucky (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday night (7 Eastern Time, ESPN) at Kroger Field in Lexington.
The FPI gives Tennessee a 9.0% chance to win out and a 100% chance to win at least six games. The Vols have a 7.5% chance to win the SEC East, a 2.2% chance to win the SEC championship and an 0.2% chance to make the College Football Playoff.
The FPI gives the Vols better than a 70% chance to win three of the last five games on schedule and better than a 55% chance to win four of the five.
Here’s a look at what Tennessee has left on schedule, the FPI ranking for the remaining opponents and what the numbers predict for the Vols:
At (43) Kentucky — ESPN FPI Chance to Win: 70.7%
Kentucky dropped back-to-back games after starting the season 5-0, losing 51-13 at No. 1 Georgia three weeks ago and 38-21 at home against Missouri two weeks ago, after UK built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Kentucky coming off a bye week as Tennessee comes to town for the 7 p.m. Eastern Time kick on ESPN.
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(120) UConn — ESPN FPI Chance to Win: 97.9%
The Huskies picked up their first win of the season on October 7, beating Rice on the road 38-31. UConn started 0-5 with losses to North Carolina State (24-14), Georgia State (35-14), Florida International (24-17), Duke (41-7) and Utah State (34-33). UConn is at Boston College this week, after losing 24-21 at home to South Florida a week ago.
At (24) Missouri — ESPN FPI Chance to Win: 55.6%
Mizzou beat South Carolina 34-12 last week and won 38-21 at Kentucky two weeks ago, bouncing back from the 49-39 at home against LSU on October 7. The Tigers are off this week, then go to No. 1 Georgia next week, before the home date against Tennessee on November 11.
(8) Georgia — ESPN FPI Chance to Win: 35.6%
After drilling Kentucky 51-13, Georgia won 37-20 at Vanderbilt two weeks ago. The Dawgs are coming off the bye week while facing Florida in Jacksonville this week. They host Missouri and Ole Miss in back-to-back home games before the trip to Tennessee on November 18.
(98) Vanderbilt — ESPN FPI Chance to Win: 94.4%
After beating Hawaii (35-28) and Alabama A&M (47-13) to start the season, Vandy has lost six straight: at Wake Forest (36-20), at UNLV (40-37), Kentucky (45-28), Missouri (38-21), at Florida (38-14) and Georgia (37-20). The Commodores are at Ole Miss this week, host Auburn next week and end the season with back-to-back road games at South Carolina and at Tennessee.
