Where Tennessee Football was ranked in the final Coaches Poll of the season
Tennessee Football finished at No. 8 in the final Coaches Poll of the season on Tuesday, one spot higher than the No. 9 ranking the Vols finished with in the Associated Press Top 25.
They dropped two spots in both polls since the last update on December 8, before the season ended with a 42-17 loss at Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on December 21.
Ohio State finished at No. 1 after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. After beating Tennessee in the first round, the Buckeyes went through Oregon and Texas before beating Notre Dame 34-23 for the national title.
Notre Dame finished No. 2 in the final Coaches Poll, ahead of No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Penn State and No. 6 Georgia. Arizona State was ranked No. 7, one spot ahead of Tennessee, and Boise State was ranked No. 9.
Boise State was ranked ahead of the Vols in the final AP Top 25.
Tennessee was ranked as high as No. 4 in Coaches Poll
Tennessee started at No. 15 in the preseason Coaches Poll and climbed as high as No. 4 in Week 6, after the Vols started 4-0 with wins over Chattanooga, North Carolina State, Kent State and at Oklahoma.
The Vols dropped to No. 9 after the 19-14 loss at Arkansas on October 5 and were back up to No. 4 after moving to 8-1 with a win over Mississippi State in November. They fell 11 spots to No. 11 after the 31-17 loss at Georgia and were ranked No. 6 in the final Coaches Poll update of the regular season on December 8.
The Coaches Poll had the Vols at No. 12 in Week 2, No. 9 in Week 3, No. 7 in Week 4 and No. 6 in Week 5.
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Syracuse, Tennessee’s season-opening opponent in 2025, finished at No. 20 in the AP Top 25 and No. 22 in the Coaches Poll after a 10-4 season. Georgia finished at No. 6 in both polls and Alabama was No. 17 in both.
Josh Heupel earned $100,000 bonus with top-10 finish
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel earned another bonus Tuesday when the Vols finished in the top ten in both major polls. He got an extra $100,000 in bonus money with the top-10 finish, giving him a total of $300,000 in bonus money this season.
A finish in the top five the AP Top 25, Coaches Poll or College Football Playoff Poll is worth $150,000 in bonus money.
Per Heupel’s contract, he earned a $200,000 bonus for making the expanded College Football Playoff. A win in the first round at Ohio State would’ve been worth an additional $50,000.
