Where Tennessee is ranked in ESPN's College Football Power Index for 2023 season
Tennessee football came in at No. 12 in ESPN’s Football Power Index ranking for the 2023 season, which was released on Tuesday. The Vols are the fourth-highest ranked SEC team, behind Alabama, Georgia and LSU.
The FPI predicts Tennessee will go 8-4 in 2023 — the projected win-loss record is 8.2-3.9 —and gives the Vols a 98.1 percent chance to win at least six games. They have a 5.4 percent chance to win the SEC East, a 1.2 percent chance to win the SEC and a 2.5 percent chance to make the College Football Playoff. There’s an 0.7 percent chance to make the national championship game and an 0.2 percent chance to win the title.
Ohio State is No. 1 in the FPI, ahead of No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 LSU and No. 5 Texas. Michigan is No. 6, followed by No. 7 USC, No. 8 Clemson, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 10 Penn State and No. 11 Oklahoma.
Ole Miss is No. 16, Florida is No. 18 and Texas A&M is 19. Kentucky is No. 28, Arkansas is No. 30 and Mississippi State is No. 32. Auburn is No. 39, one spot ahead of No. 40 Missouri. South Carolina is No. 42 and Vanderbilt is No. 73.
Vols finished No. 5 in Football Power Index in 2022
ESPN defines its Football Power Index as “a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily.”
Tennessee finished fifth in the FPI in 2022, after going 11-2 and winning the Orange Bowl over Clemson in December at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The Vols started the season 8-0, debuting at No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff of the season in November, before losses at Georgia and South Carolina.
It was Tennessee’s first 11-win season since 2001 and the program’s first 10-win regular season since 2003.
Josh Heupel’s uptempo offense, which this season is forced to replace Hendon Hooker at quarterback, led college football in scoring last season, averaging 46.1 points per game. The Vols were fifth in passing offense, averaging 326.1 yards per game, and averaged 199.4 rush yards per game.
Tennessee opens season against Virginia on September 2 in Nashville
The Vols, who closed spring practice on Saturday, open the 2023 season on September 2 against Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. They open the home schedule at Neyland Stadium on September 9 against Austin Peay and go on the road to open the SEC schedule at Florida on September 16.
Tennessee hosts UTSA on September 30 and opens its SEC home schedule against South Carolina on September 30. Texas A&M comes to Knoxville on October 14 and the Vols play back-to-back road games at Alabama on October 21 and Kentucky on October 28.
The Vols play UConn at home on November 4, go to Missouri on November 11 and host Georgia on November 18, before closing the regular-season schedule against Vanderbilt on November 25.
Virginia is ranked No. 83 in the FPI and UConn is No. 120.
