ESPN reacts to Vols at No. 7 in College Football Playoff Top 25, one spot behind Alabama
Tennessee came in at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 update Tuesday night. The Vols moved up three spots from No. 10 last week, but stayed one spot behind No. 6 Alabama.
The Vols (10-2, 6-2 SEC) have the head-to-head win over Alabama (10-2, 6-2), but also have the more recent loss, losing at South Carolina on November 19.
The Crimson Tide lost 52-49 at Tennessee on October 15 and 32-31 at LSU in overtime on November 5.
Redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker threw for 385 yards and five touchdowns against Alabama, adding 72 rush yards on 14 carries. He threw all five touchdowns to junior receiver Jalin Hyatt, who caught the school-record five touchdowns despite just catching six passes in the game. He finished with 207 receiving yards.
Vols move up three spots in updated College Football Playoff Top 25
Tennessee was ranked No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff Top 25 of the season, dropped to No. 5 after a 27-13 loss at current-No. 1 Georgia and fell to No. 10 after the 63-38 loss at South Carolina. The Gamecocks moved into the ranking at No. 19 after winning 31-30 at Clemson on Saturday.
“What this means,” ESPN host Rece Davis said of the Vols being at No. 7, “is that Tennessee is behind Alabama, who they beat, which is infuriating to Volunteer fans, I’m sure. But there’s also the issue that they don’t have their starting quarterback anymore, with Hendon Hooker out for the year.”
Tennessee lost Hooker, the Heisman Trophy candidate and Maxwell Award finalist, to a torn ACL in the fourth quarter of the loss at South Carolina.
“And I think that’s exactly what has happened here,” Joey Galloway said in reply to Davis. “Hendon Hooker is no longer there. So their resume, as strong as it is, and a terrific season they had, without Hendon Hooker, do you think they do the same thing with that resume? I don’t think they do. But I understand why they’re ranked behind ‘Bama in this situation.”
“I don’t think they do, either,” David Pollack answered. “But we did see (Tennessee and Alabama) play. I think you could say we saw them go head to head, we saw Tennessee beat them. So I wouldn’t be upset if Tennessee was ahead of them, honestly. Not the slightest bit. It’s been a magical year for Tennessee. Joe Milton looked good, I know it was Vanderbilt, but he looked really good and the offense was high flying.”
Up Next: Vols await bowl selections on Sunday
Milton threw for 147 yards and a touchdown in Tennessee’s 56-0 win at Vanderbilt Saturday night. The Vols ran 31 times as a team for 362 yards and six touchdowns.
Alabama beat Auburn 49-27 on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
The Sugar Bowl takes the highest-ranked SEC team outside of the College Football Playoff top four, which currently is Alabama. The Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl are also landing spots for SEC teams in the New Years Six bowls, with most current bowl projections matching up Tennessee and Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
“The bowl positioning is going to be interesting, too, for Tennessee,” Rece Davis said. “Will they wind up in the Sugar? Will they wind up in one of those other SEC spots in the New Year’s Six games? Which is still a great accomplishment for the Volunteers early in the Josh Heupel era.”
