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Tennessee

Where Tennessee Football's 2025 opponents are ranked in ESPN's updated SP+

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•05/23/25•

GrantRamey

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Only two Tennessee Football opponents on the 2025 schedule were ranked higher than the Vols when ESPN updated its SP+ ratings this week. Alabama was the highest-ranked SEC team at No. 2, behind No. 1 Ohio State, while Georgia came in at No. 4.

Tennessee is ranked No. 13 overall, directly ahead of No. 14 Florida, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 17 South Carolina. 

The SP+ score for Tennessee at No. 13 overall is 18.4. The Vols are had a 31.4 score on offense, ranked No. 34 overall, and a 13.0 score on defense, ranked No. 7 nationally. The special teams score was 0.2, ranked No. 21.

FanDuel has Tennessee’s win total set at 8.5. The Vols are +3300 to win the national championship, with 11 teams having better odds. They have the sixth best odds to win the SEC at +1300. 

Tennessee’s 2025 opponents in ESPN’s SP+ ratings

No. 2 Alabama (27.9 SP+ score): Alabama is ranked No. 5 on offense (40.4), No. 5 on defense (12.6) and No. 20 on special teams (0.2). FanDuel has Alabama at +1300 to win the national championship, tied for sixth-lowest odds for the national title, and +500 to win the SEC. The win total for the Crimson Tide is set at 9.5.

No. 4 Georgia (26.9): Georgia is No. 8 on offense (39.0), No. 4 on defense (12.1) and No. 1 on special team (0.6). Georgia is +700 to win the national title, behind both Texas and Ohio State at +600, and the Bulldogs are +350 to win the SEC. Their win total is also 9.5.

No. 14 Florida (17.3): Florida is ranked No. 16 on offense (35.4), No. 21 on defense (18.2) and No. 8 on special teams (0.3). The Gators are +4100 to win the national title, +1800 to win the SEC and has a win total of 7.5.

No. 16 Oklahoma (16.5): Oklahoma is ranked No. 25 on offense (33.3), No. 13 on defense (16.7) and No. 31 on special teams (0.2). The Sooners are +5000 to win the national title, +2200 to win the SEC and have a win total of 6.5.

No. 38 Arkansas (7.0): Arkansas is No. 38 on offense (31.0), No. 40 on defense (24.0) and No. 35 on special teams (0.2). The Razorbacks are +49000 to win the national championship, +15000 to the win the SEC and have a win total of 5.5.

No. 43 Kentucky (4.7): Kentucky is No. 79 on offense (25.8), No. 31 on defense (21.0) and No. 14 on special teams (0.3). 

No. 55 Vanderbilt (1.7): Vanderbilt is No. 63 on offense (27.3), No. 50 on defense (25.7) and No. 9 on special teams (0.3). 

No. 56 Syracuse (1.6): Syracuse is No. 42 on offense (30.7), No. 76 on defense (29.1) and No. 101 on special teams (-0.2). 

No. 71 Mississippi State (-1.4): Mississippi State is No. 60 on offense (27.5), No. 72 on defense (28.9) and No. 27 on special teams (0.2). 

No. 112 UAB (-13.8): UAB is No. 85 on offense (25.1), No. 130 on defense (38.9) and No. 47 on special teams (0.1).

No. 122 New Mexico State (-16.0): New Mexico State is No. 106 on offense (21.8), No. 124 on defense (37.8) and No. 34 on special teams (0.2).

ESPN’s SP+ Rating

The SP+ preseason projections are based on returning production, recent recruiting and recent history. 

ESPN also notes that the SP+ “is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking, and along those lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the season. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather.”

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