KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One walk-off field goal cost Tennessee five places in the national rankings. The Volunteers fell from No. 11 to No. 16 in the national media rankings released Sunday, a day after their last-second defeat at South Carolina.
Coaches were a little harsher. Their weekly ballot moved Tennessee down six places, landing at No. 17. Seven days earlier the Vols sat at No. 11 on both lists after handling Alabama at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee now stands at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play. The loss to the unranked Gamecocks was its second of the season, and it came even though the Vols ran for three touchdowns. South Carolina has now knocked off two ranked teams in a row after beating then-No. 16 Florida the previous week.
The Vols were hardly alone in a chaotic weekend. Iowa, another one-loss team, also fell to an unranked opponent on a last-play kick and dropped out of the poll entirely. Elsewhere in the state, Vanderbilt let a 10-0 lead get away in a loss to Kentucky, which climbed to No. 9 at 7-1.
Kentucky is next on the Tennessee schedule, and the Wildcats arrive as the higher-ranked team, a reversal few expected in August. The Vols have an open date this Saturday before hosting the Wildcats on Nov. 7 in the annual border rivalry game.
The rest of the regular season is not easy. Tennessee travels to Texas A&M on Nov. 14, welcomes LSU to Knoxville on Nov. 21 and finishes Nov. 28 at Vanderbilt. Other ranked SEC teams this week include No. 3 Georgia, No. 10 Alabama, No. 12 Ole Miss and No. 17 Florida.
Tennessee opened the season at No. 20 with media voters and has bounced between No. 11 and No. 18 since. The open week gives the staff time to rest bruised players and regroup for a November stretch that will decide whether the Vols stay in the playoff conversation.
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