Tennessee remains in College Football Playoff rankings after back-to-back losses
Tennessee was still ranked in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
Tennessee didn’t suffer much of a drop in the new College Football Playoff rankings after losing to the No. 1 team in college football. The Vols fell just three spots to No. 21 after losing 38-10 to Georgia, which snapped Tennessee’s 14-game winning streak at Neyland Stadium, and are the highest-ranked four-loss team in the committee’s top 25. Tennessee remained ranked in both top-25 polls released on Sunday – No. 25 in the AP Top 25 and No. 23 in the US LBM Coaches Poll – and did so in the CFP rankings, released on ESPN on Tuesday night heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale against Vanderbilt.
Three of Tennessee’s four losses this season are to teams in the top 10: No. 1 Georgia, No. 8 Alabama and No. 9 Missouri.
The Vols are just one of two four-loss teams in the top 25 along with Clemson, which has won three in a row after starting 4-4.
Tennessee was 7-2 before losing its past two games by a combined 57 points. The Vols lost 36-7 at Missouri before Georgia won its seventh straight in the rivalry against Tennessee. It’s the first time the Vols have lost back-to-back games under Josh Heupel since his first season in 2021, when a close home loss to Ole Miss was followed by a 28-point defeat at Alabama when the Crimson Tide pulled away in the fourth quarter.
In addition to an 0-3 mark against current top-25 opponents, Tennessee lost to unranked Florida, which is 5-6 and needs to upset Florida State this week to make a bowl game.
Tennessee’s best win by record is against UTSA, which is 8-3 and hasn’t lost since losing 45-14 in Knoxville on September 23. The Roadrunners are unbeaten in American Athletic Conference play heading into a key game against Tulane. The Vols also beat an eventual Football Championship Subdivision playoff team in Austin Peay.
The best SEC win for the Vols by record is Texas A&M, which is 7-4 but also looking for a new coach after firing Jimbo Fisher following a blowout win against Mississippi State. Tennessee’s other two SEC wins came against Kentucky (6-5) and South Carolina (5-6). Both of those teams finished 3-5 in conference play, as did Florida.
The Vols can clinch an eight-win regular season by beating in-state rival Vanderbilt on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The two-win Commodores are winless in SEC play this season and all of their conference losses have come by at least 16 points. Tennessee opened as a 26-point favorite.
CFP COMMITTEE RANKINGS (November 21)
1. Georgia (11-0)
2. Ohio State (11-0)
3. Michigan (11-0)
4. Washington (11-0)
5. Florida State (11-0)
6. Oregon (10-1)
7. Texas (10-1)
8. Alabama (10-1)
9. Missouri (9-2)
10. Louisville (10-1)
11. Penn State (9-2)
12. Ole Miss (9-2)
13. Oklahoma (9-2)
14. LSU (8-3)
15. Arizona (8-3)
16. Oregon State (8-3)
17. Iowa (9-2)
18. Notre Dame (8-3)
19. Kansas State (8-3)
20. Oklahoma State (8-3)
21. TENNESSEE (7-4)
22. NC State (8-3)
23. Tulane (10-1)
24. Clemson (7-4)
25. Liberty (11-0)
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