Josh Heupel is 'absolutely proud' of Tennessee's No. 1 ranking

Tennessee is ranked No. 1 for the first time in the College Football Playoff era.

With a huge matchup against No. 3 Georgia looming, there hasn’t been any time for Vols headman Josh Heupel to enjoy his team’s top ranking. Still, Heupel took a second Thursday to reflect on his team’s lengthy accomplishments this season.

“I’m absolutely proud of what we’ve done up until this point, from the time we’ve gotten here until now,” Heupel said Thursday. “There’s a lot of things that we need to continue to get better at, but the reality is that’s the first show, the first rankings. Everybody remembers what you do in November. The only one that matters is the last one.

“The reason we’ve gotten to the point where this is a big football game is because we’ve handled things the right way. Coaches and players alike. Preparation and practice and understanding the type of football team (we’re playing). This is a really good football team and they’ve been winning for a while. Great opportunity for us.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Sitting at 8-0 on the season, the Vols still have a hill to climb even if they take down Georgia between the hedges. With Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt – all SEC East matchups – still to come, one slip up from the Vols down the stretch and they could find themselves missing out on the SEC East crown and subsequent SEC title game.

The only game Tennessee can afford to drop for the remainder of the season is Saturday’s blockbuster game at Georgia, and even still would leave them in a slightly unfavorable position regarding the selection committee’s rankings.

Regardless, the Vols are enjoying their time atop college football for the time being – and are playing on a level that it doesn’t seem like they’re in any mood to slow down. With the reigning national champions standing in their way, Tennessee will look to improve to 9-0 and take firm control of the SEC East over the Bulldogs.