When Max Gilbert’s 43-yard field goal sailed wide right in overtime, Kirby Smart could finally exhale. Georgia had just escaped Neyland Stadium with a 44-41 win over Tennessee - a thriller that nearly turned into a defining upset for the Vols and a devastating stumble for the Bulldogs.
That miss didn’t just preserve Georgia’s undefeated regular season - it wound up being the difference between a College Football Playoff berth and a what-if scenario. A loss that night would’ve knocked the Dawgs out of the SEC title picture and, in turn, the national championship conversation. Instead, they survived, advanced, and finished the season right where they wanted to be.
But that moment clearly stuck with Smart. Because when the final US LBM Coaches Poll of the 2025 season dropped on Jan. 20, there was Tennessee - not in the Top 25, but receiving votes. And one of those votes came from Smart himself.
Despite Tennessee’s 8-5 finish, capped by a disappointing loss to Illinois in the Music City Bowl, Smart placed the Vols at No. 24 on his final ballot. He was one of just five coaches who gave Tennessee a nod in the season-ending rankings.
He wasn’t alone. Sean Lewis of San Diego State also had Tennessee at No.
- Meanwhile, Luke Fickell (Wisconsin), GJ Kinne (Texas State), and Jim Mora (UConn) all slotted the Vols at No.
- Among those five, only Smart had actually faced Tennessee this season - and that near-upset in Knoxville clearly left an impression.
The rest of the panel - 57 coaches in total - left Tennessee off their ballots entirely. Vols head coach Josh Heupel wasn’t among the voters this year.
The result? Tennessee finished outside the Top 25, technically landing at No. 32 in the “others receiving votes” category. It’s a steep drop for a program that, under Heupel, had grown used to seeing its name in the rankings.
This marks the first time since 2021 that Tennessee has ended a season unranked in both the AP and Coaches polls. From 2022 through 2024, they had climbed as high as No. 6 (2022), finished No. 17 (2023), and wrapped up 2024 ranked No. 9 in the AP and No. 8 in the Coaches poll. That three-year run helped reestablish Tennessee as a national player under Heupel, following a stretch from 2017 to 2021 when the Vols were routinely absent from the final polls.
So what does Smart’s vote tell us? For one, it’s a reminder that coaches don’t just look at records - they remember who gave them trouble. And Tennessee, for all its inconsistency in 2025, gave one of the nation’s best teams everything it could handle.
That might not show up in the final rankings. But it showed up on Smart’s ballot.