The Tennessee Vols pulled off one of the more impressive performances of the college football season for the second time in less than a month, clubbing No. 6 Kentucky 34-6 on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee, of course, also handled Alabama at home three weeks ago 26-10 in a win that’s shaping up as one of the best across the country in early November. Of course, Tennessee wasn’t really credited with that win the way that some felt they should in the initial college football rankings,
coming in at No. 13.
But the Vols will surely find themselves in the field at this point after winning handily over their border rival. Ole Miss, Ohio State, and BYU were all ahead of Tennessee. All should drop below the Vols, who were two spots out of the bracket at this point (yes, it’s early. Don’t need to be reminded of that.)
So where does Tennessee sit in the latest projections from ESPN’s Heather Dinich? At No. 9, one spot ahead of Kentucky.
Why they could be here: The Vols moved up because Ole Miss and Ohio State suffered third losses, but also because of Saturday’s statement win against Kentucky and the Oct. 17 win against Alabama. The head-to-head win against Kentucky will keep the Vols above the Wildcats, but the committee made it clear in its first ranking that it thought the gap between Alabama and Tennessee was wide enough to outweigh the Vols’ 16-point win last month.
Dinich is right even if it’s ridiculous regarding the gap between Tennessee and Alabama. Alabama throttled LSU 31-13 and will move up again in the rankings this week from No. 5. Tennessee won’t be in the same grouping as Alabama, which committee chair Hunter Yuracheck has said is why the Vols’ head-to-head win/advantage over the Crimson Tide isn’t being honored. That seems pretty clear to me, and that’s something Dinich said, too.
Need to know: Head-to-head results are one factor, but they’re not the determining difference in the room — especially if the committee doesn’t deem the teams comparable. “That head-to-head matchup where South Carolina beat Tennessee is not going to come into play,” Yurachek said, “just like the head-to-head matchup between Tennessee and Alabama is not going to come into play at this point because of where those teams were reviewed in the ranking process.”
Of course, the task now turns to Texas A&M, which, to me, is more worrisome than Kentucky. Yes, really. That’s a tougher road trip than the record might indicate. I do like the chances of Tennessee’s defense to outduel Marcel Reed and the A&M offense. But I still worry about this game. College Station is not an easy place to play. But if they can win there, they’ll get LSU and Lane Kiffin coming to a madhouse Neyland for what could be a playoff trip on the line for Tennessee.
Regardless, Tennessee is in a spot that just about everyone wearing orange would have taken to start the season. We’ll see if they can keep the momentum going on Saturday against the Aggies.
