The Tennessee Volunteers are moving up again after a clean start to the season.
After Week 3, Tennessee checks in at No. 14 in the nation, one spot higher than where it stood entering the weekend. The Vols were already sitting at No. 15, and with several ranked teams falling around them, they picked up a small but meaningful bump despite playing what many would call a lighter opponent in Kennesaw State.
What Tennessee has done through three games is simple: take care of business. The Vols are 3-0 with three dominant wins, and they’ve avoided the kind of chaos that has already swallowed up plenty of other teams this season. In a year that has already delivered wild finishes and upsets, Tennessee has stayed out of the mess.
The biggest shakeup helping Tennessee came from Kentucky’s upset of Texas A&M. That loss sent the Aggies tumbling from No. 9 to No. 23, a brutal fall and a reminder of how expensive an early-season loss to an unranked team can be.
Now the attention shifts to what Tennessee still has ahead. The Vols have four ranked teams remaining on the schedule: Texas at No.
1, Alabama at No. 8, LSU at No. 10, and Texas A&M at No.
- Three of those teams are ranked ahead of Tennessee, which means the next few weeks will be loaded with chances to climb.
For now, the Vols sit in a strong spot with the College Football Playoff picture still taking shape. Their next shot comes this Saturday, when Tennessee hosts Texas in one of the season’s biggest matchups.
In Other News...
Tennessee Suddenly Has A Backfield Concern At The Worst Time
DeSean Bishops status is suddenly worth watching in Knoxville after the running back went down with a hip injury in the first half against Kennesaw State, then tried to gut it out again in the third quarter before leaving for good because of the pain. Tennessee still found ways to stay on schedule with Daune Morris handling additional carries and punching in a touchdown, but the game also made it clear how much the backfield depends on Bishops availability when the Volunteers want to stay balanced.
Now the attention shifts to a much bigger test against Texas, where every injury on the depth chart feels a little more expensive. Bishops ability to get back on the field, and how effective he can be if he does, will be one of the quieter but more important storylines for Tennessee as it starts preparing for a matchup that already looked demanding before the hip became an issue. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Fans Can't Assume The Usual Checker Neyland Look Vs Texas
Tennessee fans heading to Neyland Stadium for the Sept. 26 showdown with Texas will need to pay a little closer attention than usual before they pack their game-day gear. The familiar orange-and-white Checker Neyland pattern is getting flipped for this one, so the standard assumptions about which sections wear which color will not apply. Anyone planning to take part is being told to check their assigned color on CheckerNeyland.com before kickoff.
The timing only raises the profile of the matchup, with ESPNs College GameDay set to broadcast from the scene and a spotlight that figures to include Peyton Manning and Arch Manning among the notable attendees. Big games in Knoxville already carry enough pageantry on their own, but this one adds a little extra pressure to get the visual right, too. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffin Still Has Tennessee Fans Doing The Unthinkable
A small but determined contingent of Tennessee fans made the trip to Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday night, and they had one mission in mind: showing up in Vols gear to pull against Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. The group of seven paid $600 apiece for their seats and settled in for the Ole Miss-LSU matchup, even with Tennessee playing Kennesaw State at the same time.
By halftime, the scene had become even more layered for Tennessee followers keeping tabs on both games. Ole Miss was ahead of LSU 24-7, while Tennessee was in control against Kennesaw State, 21-3, leaving the Vols faithful with plenty to watch and an old rivalry thread still clearly unresolved. [Read more 🡒]