Rankings Update: Tennessee falls out of the Associated Press Top 25 after win over Vandy
Tennessee fell out of the the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, going from No. 25 last week to unranked this week, after the 48-24 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The Vols received the most votes of any unranked teams at 98. SMU, ranked No. 25, received 108 votes.
The USA Today Coaches Poll on Sunday had Tennessee at No. 23 in the poll for a second straight week
Joe Milton III led the Vols (8-4, 4-4 SEC) in the Senior Day win over Vandy with a career-high 383 yards and four passing touchdowns. He accounted for six total touchdowns — he’s the first Tennessee player to do so since Jonathan Crompton in 2009 against Memphis — after adding a pair of 2-yard rushing touchdowns.
Jaylen Wright rushed 11 times for 75 yards, ending the regular season with 1,013 rushing yards. He became Tennessee’s 19th 1,000-yard rusher in a season and the first to do since Jalen Hurd in 2015.
Squirrel White caught 10 passes for 110 yards and Ramel Keyton had four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, covering 46 and 57 yards. Jacob Warren caught three passes for 87 yards and a touchdown and McCallan Castles caught three passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Tennessee in the College Football Playoff rankings
Tennessee was ranked No. 21 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 on Tuesday night, dropping three spots from No. 18 the previous week. The Vols debuted at No. 17 in the first CFP rankings on October 31, moved up to No. 14 after the win over UConn and fell to No. 18 after the loss at Missouri.
“They’ve been a really good team early in the year,” CFP Chairman Boo Coorigan said of the Vols on a conference call with reporters Tuesday night. “When you look at their losses to Alabama, to Missouri, to Georgia, they’ve played really, as a lot of people have, a tough schedule, but their ability to rush the ball.
“They’ve got some guys up front defensively, as we look at it, that they continue to impress the committee, and as I said before, there’s 13 people on the committee. We’re making sure we’re getting every angle and making sure we’re making the right decision every week.”
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The Vols in the polls this season
Tennessee dropped seven spots in both polls last week — from No. 14 to No. 21 in the AP Top 25 and from No. 12 to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll — after the 36-7 loss at Missouri
The Vols had climbed to No. 12 in the Coaches Poll and No. 14 in the AP poll after back-to-back wins over Kentucky and UConn. They had dropped No. 19 in the Coaches Poll and No. 21 in the AP Top 25 after the 34-20 loss at Alabama.
Tennessee started the season ranked No. 12 in the AP Preseason Top 25. The Vols moved up three spots to No. 9 overall in Week 2, after the 49-13 win over Virginia in Nashville, then dropped 12 spots in the AP poll after the 29-16 loss at Florida.
The Coaches Poll had Tennessee at No. 10 in its preseason top 25 released on August 7. The Vols were ranked as high as No. 9 in the Coaches Poll before dropping 10 spots to No. 20 after the loss at Florida.
