Heather Dinich questions why Tennessee is ranked in preseason top 25
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Heather Dinich simply doesn’t believe in Tennessee in 2026, and the ESPN college football analyst definitely doesn’t think the Volunteers deserved to be ranked 20th in Monday’s preseason AP Top 25.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday afternoon, where Dinich broke down the preseason poll that will have everyone talking for a few days, she pumped up some teams and, well, did the opposite with the program that resides in Knoxville.
Among the 9 SEC teams that were ranked in the preseason poll, there stood Josh Heupel‘s team at No. 20, not in the top 10 but not totally left out of the poll altogether, like Dinich believed Tennessee should have been. Dinich specifically pointed to the Volunteers not knowing who their starting quarterback is going to be yet, as an intense battle for the job forges on during fall camp.
“I can’t believe Tennessee is even ranked. Why is Tennessee ranked, let alone at No. 20?” Dinich asked. “I mean, they better find a quarterback and find some answers fast there. I have so many questions about them, not to say they can’t do it. Based on answers and not questions, I don’t know why the Vols are in there.”
Tennessee will try to prove Dinich wrong this fall as the Volunteers also try to become relevant in the SEC title discussion. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the Vols’ chances to shock everyone and bring home the conference crown in December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
