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Tennessee receives 14 AP Poll points, No. 35 overall in expanded rankings
By Jason Hall
Published:
Tennessee continued to make progress in the AP Top 25 poll this week, despite matching its total of 14 votes received from Week 2. With the expanded rankings, the Vols essentially move up to No.35 overall, four spots up from last week.
In Week 2, Tennessee received the highest amount of points in the poll since being ranked No. 23 overall in Week 3 of 2012. In that span, the Vols had only received two votes following a dominant win over Western Kentucky in Week 2 of last season. But following their loss to Oregon, Tennessee failed to receive a single point for the remainder of 2013.
The Vols currently hold a 2-0 record against two teams that many considered favorable match ups. Tennessee won both games convincingly and will now embark on a difficult stretch of games. The Vols’ next three games will be at No. 4 Oklahoma, at No. 6 Georgia and hosting Florida at Neyland Stadium. Though they are currently on the cusp of being ranked, it will be difficult for Tennessee to survive such a tough schedule with their undefeated record in tact.
Realistically, the Vols would be fortunate to win any of the upcoming three games and hold a 3-3 record before facing Chattanooga, which is all but a guaranteed win. Still, though a ranking in the upcoming weeks seems like a long shot, Tennessee is definitely making progress in its rebuilding process and continuing to move in a positive direction under Butch Jones.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
