After Tennessee football's huge win over Alabama on Saturday, we lay out why the Volunteers are a true College Football Playoff contender.
With a 70% completion percentage, 15 touchdowns and only one pick, Hooker is easily one of the This Tennessee football team is very different from those in the past, and Heupel is a huge reason why. Let’s go over a few of the reasons why Tennessee is a huge player in the College Football Playoff race. If they can add a win over the defending champs on top of that, there’s no denying that they belong in the dance. Those stats are all the more impressive considering who Tennessee has played this season. Rather than buckle, the Vols just went out there and responded to the adversity, and that doesn’t happen without good coaching. Some fans were skeptical of the hiring at first, but he has proven all the doubters wrong so far. The Vols have four wins over ranked teams this season: Pittsburgh, Florida, LSU and, of course, Alabama. The first three wins have lost a bit of luster due to those teams losing other games since, but that Alabama win is as premium as they come. The Vols, already ranked sixth in the AP Top 25 Poll, will likely jump up to the top three when the new rankings come out on Sunday. Following the big win, Tennessee finds itself in a spot where it hasn’t been in a long time, on top. In front of a raucous crowd at Neyland Stadium, the Volunteers defeated the Crimson Tide 52-49, with a last-second field goal capping off an instant classic.
Projecting the new AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 7 of the 2022 season.
Texas (22): A week of "Can Texas make the College Football Playoff with two losses?" North Carolina (NR): Though ranked in the Coaches Poll last week, the Tar Heels were the first team outside the AP Top 25. Syracuse (18): The Dome was electric and impactful on the result as Syracuse seized on the opportunity to snag a high-profile win against a Devin Leary-less NC State, beating the Wolfpack 24-9 to improve to 6-0. The argument for Purdue's resume comes down the classic discussion of a "good loss" as its only two defeats have come to other ranked teams (one-loss Penn State, undefeated Syracuse) and both losses have been by four points or less. Alabama (3): If there is going to be a surge of momentum behind Tennessee, there has to be a high floor for the Tide when it comes to their drop in the rankings. The eye test helps Penn State because, while the Nittany Lions were clearly outmatched on Saturday, the pieces are clearly there for this to be one of the better teams in the country. Ole Miss (9): The voters won't penalize Ole Miss for allowing a reeling Auburn team to hang around in what turned out to be a more interesting early slate game than many expected. Oklahoma State is good enough to earn a rematch with TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game, but now the margins to make that game are even smaller with one conference loss on the books and six Big 12 games left on the schedule. Tennessee (6): As mentioned earlier, there's a strong argument for Tennessee to be in consideration for the No. Now 6-0 and 3-0 in league play, TCU can start beating the drum for more respect from the voters and a place in the CFP conversation. We think there will be first-place votes awarded to the Vols, just not enough to jump ahead of the Buckeyes, who collected more than 30% of the first-place votes last week. It's a fascinating twist in the 2022 season and potentially just a preview of the shake ups to come with more games between ranked teams on the schedule in weeks ahead.