Tennessee Football: Where the Vols are ranked after 66-24 win over Missouri
Tennessee remained at No. 5 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll on Sunday afternoon, following the win over Missouri on Saturday. The Vols are ranked behind No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 TCU.
Tennessee (9-1, 5-1 SEC) plays at South Carolina (6-4, 3-4) on Saturday in a 7 p.m. kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. The game will be televised by ESPN.
The Vols poured it on Missouri Saturday on Senior Day at Neyland Stadium, erupting in the second half of a 66-24 win. Tennessee set a program record with 724 yards of total offense and scored 38 unanswered points over the final 23 minutes of the game.
Tennessee dropped to No. 5 in the AP Top 25, the Coaches Poll and the College Football Playoff rankings last week, following the 27-13 loss at No. 1 Georgia.
The Vols could’ve used some help from Texas Saturday night, but the Longhorns fell at home against No. 4 TCU, 17-10. Oregon, the No. 6 team in the CFP Top 25 this week, lost at home to No. 24 Washington, 37-34.
No. 1 Georgia won 45-19 at Mississippi State and No. 2 Ohio State won 56-14 at home against Indiana. No. 3 Michigan won 34-3 at home against Nebraska.
Tennessee set for road games at South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Tennessee closes the regular-season schedule with road games at South Carolina and Vanderbilt. TCU goes to Baylor Saturday before hosting Iowa State. Michigan plays at Ohio State on November 26.
The Vols appeared to be adding the much-discussed style points late in Saturday’s runaway win over Missouri, scoring two touchdowns in the final six minutes. Backup quarterback Joe Milton III entered the game in the fourth quarter, throwing a 46-yard touchdown to Ramel Keyton and a 58-yard pass to freshman Squirrel White to set up a Dylan Sampson touchdown with 36 seconds left.
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Second-year Tennessee coach Josh Heupel was asked during his postgame press conference about the 17 points his team tacked on during the fourth quarter.
“The statement for us is that we’re a good football team playing good football,” Heupel said. “What the scoreboard ultimately ends up being, and what people down the line may judge us for, we’re out of control of some of those things.
“… Our best football is still out in front of us. I am proud of the fight, the competition, the ability to reset. The second half, the way our guys went out and competed in all three phases, it was a good win.”
Vols set single-game program record with 724 yards of total offense
After Tennessee’s offense struggled at Georgia a week ago, the Vols passed for 460 yards and four touchdowns against Missouri and ran 37 times for 264 yards and five more touchdowns on the ground.
Tennessee ended the game with 38 unanswered points over the final 23 minutes, after Missouri pulled within 28-24 midway through the third quarter.
“There are some things (Missouri) had done,” Heupel said. “You look at what they’ve done over the course of the season, that’s a really good defense. One of the top ones in this conference. There are some things that they did that hurt us. There are some things that we did, too, on the offensive side of the football … we weren’t as clean as we could be in the first half, our guys don’t blink. Came back and played. I’m proud of that part of it, in particular.”
