The No. 11-ranked Vols dropped their annual ‘Third Saturday in October’ rivalry game to No. 6 Alabama 37-20 on Saturday, Oct. 18 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
It is the 11th consecutive loss in Tuscaloosa for Tennessee, which entered the night looking to win back-to-back games in the rivalry series for the first time in over two decades. Instead, it’s the Crimson Tide smoking the postgame victory cigars.
The Vols dug themselves into a hole just before halftime and were unable to dig themselves out of it. At the Alabama 1-yard line with 9 seconds remaining in the first half, Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar decided to throw the ball and it was intercepted by Zabien Brown, who took it to the house for a 99-yard touchdown to put the Crimson Tide up 23-7.
That wasn’t the only poor decision of the night from Aguilar. Earlier in the second quarter, the 6-foot-3 quarterback was sacked by the Crimson Tide defense in the end zone for a safety. Aguilar finished 28 of 44 passing for 268 yards with a touchdown and an interception on the night.
Tennessee is now 0-2 against top-six ranked opponents this season, with the other loss coming to then-No. 6 Georgia at home in Knoxville on Sept. 13.
So, where will the Vols fall in the latest top 25 rankings following the defeat? Here’s where they may land:
Tennessee rankings: Where will Vols fall to after Alabama loss?
Though it is a painful loss for Tennessee, as it adds a second loss to the resume for Josh Heupel’s squad, the loss to Alabama by no means is a ‘bad’ loss or a ‘season-crushing’ loss.
It will still drop the Vols a spot or two in the top 25 rankings when they are released on Sunday afternoon.
Tennessee did not receive any help from the teams around it in the top 25 polls, as No. 12 Georgia Tech, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 14 BYU and No. 15 Notre Dame all won their games. There were also two top 10 teams near Tennessee in the polls that sustained losses: No. 8 Texas Tech to unranked Arizona State and No. 10 LSU to Diego Pavia and No. 18 Vanderbilt. Depending on how the voters for the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll view those top-10 losses, they could send Tennessee out of the top 15.
The Vols have two more chances at boosting their College Football Playoff resume with top-25 ranked teams, as Tennessee still has to face No. 13 Oklahoma and No. 18 Vanderbilt. Those are now the biggest games left on the season for Tennessee; a third loss to one of those teams or an additional loss to either Kentucky, New Mexico State or Florida will surely take the Vols out of contention for the SEC championship game and College Football Playoff.
Here’s how the rest of the top 15 fared in Week 8, and how those games might affect the Vols’ ranking:
Rankings reflective of the latest US LBM Coaches Poll
No. 1 Ohio State: Beat Wisconsin
No. 2 Miami: Lost to Louisville
No. 3 Indiana: Beat Michigan State
No. 4 Texas A&M: Beat Arkansas
No. 5 Ole Miss: Lost to No. 7 Georgia
No. 6 Alabama: Beat Tennessee
No. 7 Georgia: Beat No. 5 Ole Miss
No. 8 Texas Tech: Lost to Arizona State
No. 9 Oregon: Beat Rutgers
No. 10 LSU: Lost to No. 18 Vanderbilt
No. 11 Tennessee: Lost to No. 6 Alabama
No. 12 Georgia Tech: Beat Duke
No. 13 Oklahoma: Beat South Carolina
No. 14 BYU: Beat No. 22 Utah
No. 15 Notre Dame: Beat No. 21 USC
Final projection for Tennessee: No. 17