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2026 Week 5 Tennessee Volunteers Rankings

Main Poll Voters

User	Rank	Reason
budget_um	10	Hung tight with the Longhorns
galacticdude7	10	Predicted Record: 10-2 Losses: Texas (17-20), LSU Comment: This is a good example of why I use this Predicted final record stuff in my evaluations for this poll. I expected Tennessee to lose to Texas, so their loss doesn't really hurt my perception of them as a team. If anything keeping it as close as they did with the team I and many others consider number 1 in the country actually improved my perception of them as a team. In any case the result that I expected to happen did indeed happen, and my perception of the team didn't decrease, so why should I drop them in my rankings?
ManiacalBlazer	10
MrTheSpork	10
TolkienFan71	10
52hoova	11
cinciforthewin	11
eclectic_tastes	11
ExternalTangents	11	Overall +21.3; offense +15.4 (7th), defense -5.9 (28th)
hascogrande	11
JeromesNiece	11
nbingham196	11
owlalwaysloveyew	11
r0sco	11
Conglossian	12	-3
Lex_Ludorum	12
sirgippy	12	GippyRank expected rank: 13.6. Central 80% interval: 4–26. Top-25 probability: 89%.
stripes361	12
blahblehblahwhoru	13
chillmagic420	13
nin478	13
NotSoSuperNerd	13	1.734 [7.77-4.23]
Pure_Protein_Machine	13
Striker743	13	Up 4 - quality loss to #1
TheZachster	13
Wescat	13
Cecil_Hardboner	14
Dropbackandpunt	14
flyingcircusdog	14
GoBlueScrewOSU7	14
Rakarei	14
samspopguy	14
sirvalkyerie	14
Sometimeswelose	14
SwissArmyScythe	14	--
Texasagsman	14
BananaBouquet	15
boxbeat	15
CRedds19	15
DarthYoda2594	15
DavoinShower-handle	15
GenialGiant	15
grey_pilgrim_	15
grtgbln	15
HideNZeke	15	They probably don't deserve it but they kept it close to the #1 team
KansasEF5Tornado	15
noodlethebear	15
RedBarracuda25	15
redwave2505	15
Roscoe_Filburn	15	Maybe they didn't get the win, but they definitely proved they belong here.
seaotter2	15
shifty1032231	15
SlaminSammons	15
smartkeg	15
spsellers	15
TDenverFan	15
Techwid	15
xX_GIGA_MAN_Xx	15	(-3)
12panther	16
a_bit_of_a_misnomer_	16
AlexanderComet	16
ALStark69	16	-4; fought hard, don't deserve a huge drop
Bereft13	16	Power: 10, SoR: 44; LW: 14
Bill3ffinMurray	16
Blooblod	16
Buckeyes2010	16
ChaseTheFalcon	16
ChemicalOle	16
Chipsahoy523	16	-8
conchobor	16
cornholesurfer	16
fredmerc111	16
G-Aardvark	16
Hackasizlak	16
HelioOne	16
Hobbes_121	16
Jakesnake42	16	Tennessee showed they can hang with the big boys but at some point you will have to get over the hump. Probably won't be this year but this is a young team. Last Week: #11
KJdkaslknv	16
MahjongDaily	16
mellolizard	16
olmsted	16
one98d	16
Player_1_has_Joined	16
Polarbear1914	16
redrumsoxLoL	16	The Vols fell to Texas in a close game that they had possession of the ball in the closing seconds. This loss doesn't get in the way of the rest of the season at all if they can get back to winning.
RobertNeyland	16
romulusjsp	16
scronko	16
sickmemes48	16
SpadeRyker	16
sroach91	16
strikersteve60	16
tdoger	16
TheReformedBadger	16
TheUltimate721	16	The Vols looked outclassed against Texas and still nearly stole the game, so I can't be too negative on them but I have serious doubts about their ability to compete in the SEC this year.
TimeBroken	16
tjstanley	16
TouchdownHeroes	16
udderlymoovelous	16
WarEagle9	16
BallSoHerd	17
bretticus733	17
brucewaynewins	17
chweris	17
Conn3er	17
Corporal_Hicks	17
DampFrijoles	17
daredassdude	17
DarkLegend64	17
djowen68	17
Drexlore	17
dschinghiskhan	17
dubscurry30	17	-6
dukemetoo	17
Euphoric_Relative_13	17
frone	17
ikindalikelemons	17
JamoRedhead	17
jmac_21	17
laprasrules	17
Longvols	17
mcdsmaster8824	17
MemeofMemeJTG999999	17	(3-1) (down 6) L: 17-20 vs #1 Texas (4-0) Next Week: vs Auburn (3-1) Projected Bowl: Gator Bowl vs Virginia Tech
Our-Gardian-Angel	17
Pikachu1989	17
Pollaski	17
Red261	17
roguebandit1	17
royrules22	17
soonerfreak	17
StFuzzySlippers	17	The Vols just can't seem to put together a complete team under Heupel. Now that the defense looks much improved over last season, they have to reckon with a true freshman QB who, while clearly talented, doesn't seem ready for big time SEC football (which they have a lot of left on the schedule). A close loss to #1 won't knock them down too far for now, but something tells me there are several more losses in their future.
T-nawtical	17
TaylorLeprechaun	17	-10
texas2089	17
the_neverdoctor	17
TopGoose	17
TossedRightOut	17
VerySeriousBanana	17
Xtremeloco	17
Zef_Apollo	17
Zloggt	17
Acm0028	18
Aidanj927	18
BorisNumber1	18
CambodianDrywall	18
CharlemagneOfTheUSA	18
diehardcubforever	18
EpicSchwinn	18
fourpinz8	18
frumious88	18
GeauxTri	18
IceColdDrPepper_Here	18
Jay_Dubbbs	18
jjjoebox	18
joebob431	18
jrluhn	18
Luigiatl	18
MainPeanut25	18	An experienced QB away from the upset
malowry0124	18
Pyromania1983	18
RegionalBias	18
RollWarTideEagle	18
ruwisc	18
Shion314	18
SteemieRayVaughn	18
Tarmacked	18	Ugly offensive game, Freshman in the fire. Defense played really well in my opinion. Similar to Iowa i'm feeling that 20~ range, however FPI and Sagarin are both putting them 11. It did not feel like it should've been 17-20 but far larger.
TheNSAAgent777	18
titansfan174	18
w8w8	18
_fastball	19
BearsAreGreat1	19
Darth_Ra	19
halldaylong	19
IAmAChemicalEngineer	19
jonstark19	19
JustinMSU21	19
justsaynotoreddit	19
Klaassy23	19
Laschoni	19
mthompson2320	19	LW: 12
PattyKane16	19
PSUMediaPA	19
RheagarTargaryen	19
SCsprinter13	19
bannista7	20
Casaiir	20
Ch-i-ef	20	Schedule isn't as brutal as other SEC teams, too bad you don't get to face OU.
CptCheese	20
elnino550	20	They haven't really beaten any team with a pulse, but only narrowly lost to Texas so didn't want to un-rank them entirely.
fshi	20
jbowen1	20	1894.70 (+1)
JustAManAndHisLaptop	20
tdeff19	20
True_Ad5324	20	Fought hard against Texas
BendrickLamar19	21
BuckeyeForLife95	21	(0.75+0.38) X (40/15.5) X (438/282.5) = 4.50
BUSean	21
Corgi_Koala	21
e8odie	21
GatorBolt	21	Not going to drop them for losing close to Texas but losing close has to give at some point.
jthomas694	21
Maladroit44	21
manbeardawg	21
nemoran	21
Xy13	21	[3-1] (17-20 L vs TX) 1 P4 Win --- Took it to the wire just couldn't get it done. Much better defense than I expected out of Tenn, good sign for the rest of the year, that was my big question mark for them.
Bank_Gothic	22	The Vols losing to Texas hurt them, but it wasn't just the loss. It was the fact that the game was not as close as the score suggests. Poor officiating and special teams (which count, I'll admit) kept it closer than it should have been. They don't have any other good wins, and I can't put them any higher than 22 based on a "close" loss to the No. 1 team.
bladefencer	22	0.748, -11, Pow: 10, Off: 5, Def: 56, SOR: 32
Cars-and-Coffee	22
CFBHurts	22
cvsprinter1	22	1-loss
cyberchaox	22	And the "impressive in defeat" award of the week goes to...!
dabul-master	22
deadtofall12	22
ewolfy13	22
JBonkies	22
MADBuc49	22	+2
retnuh101	22
thomasosu	22
Blazeth	23
Cassiyus	23
ch1l1_ch33s3	23
Chris-P-Creme	23
Daigotsu	23
Lefunnymaymays4lief	23	(-6) Spirited effort defensively from Tennessee, but because it’s an even numbered year this means there’s some issues on the other side of the ball. And, let’s be real, the minute the frat accounts on Twitter started making this about racism was the minute this game was decided
RJEP22	23
SufferingfOrLife	23
Hugefootballfan44	24	LW: 15
sgtshenanigans	24	Their first year QB looks tough and gritty, came back from injury and, continued to run the ball. However, there wasn't much he could do against the Texas defense. Tennessee's defense looked good. I had Tennessee at #22 last week so they don't move down much even with the loss.
The-Gothic-Castle	24
zenverak	24
aggiebruin27	25
Doogitywoogity	25	It really doesn’t change my vision of Tennessee that they lost. Frankly it should have been by more, but tu kept shooting themselves in the foot. OK St and Mizzou both got consideration along with a smattering of G6 schools but I kept Tennessee because they’re really what I thought they were which is a borderline top 25 squad.
jrich960608	25	You lost by 3 to the #1 team, I can’t drop you out even though it wasn’t pretty. Is the OLINE that bad or is it the Texas effect? I think the QB will be fine, he got exposed for being a freshman. Well, he is one so that’s fine. The defense is good and I love the DLINE. They can improve certainly but it needs to happen fast
jrichardh	25
NyquillusDillwad20	25
PeteyNice	25
realclean	25
spmartin1993	25
studio_sally	25
ThaCarter	25
Versigot	25	Floppy Top completely bungling it, what else is new?

Provisional Poll Voters

User	Rank	Reason
fm22fnam	10	+UNR
IWieldTheFlameOfAnor	10	266
_Junk_Rat_	11
beckett929	11
irishspring4521	11
Rishik01	11
chief_sitass	12
hbh110	12
Klightgrove	12
bigred91224	13
Flaky_Bit6733	13
FuzzyDunlop911	13
jwrtf	13
KevinDoesSports	13	They stayed very close to #1 Texas, they shouldn't fall or drop, keep them #14.
mathwrath55	13
NNul	13	Tennessee can hang with Texas, if they don't make a worthless waste of that onside kick.
Piptit	13
Select-Edge-3262	13
FindGreatness23	14
geordieColt88	14
Menktenk	14
MisguidedPassion	14	Slight knock for the home loss, but it's the top team in the nation.
NC_Pineapple	14
newSomberMan	14
noah_divine	14
ResearchFlaky5912	14	Gets jumped by Iowa after losing at home to Texas on a day where Texas did not look good. Still, they covered against #1, so no reason to drop them.
rt13wx	14
Spazzatack	14
sportstrap	14
thatoneguyD13	14	Tier 4. Not going to hold a 3 point loss to the #2 team against them too much.
the_lost_carrot	14
ValarMorghulis_17	14
BeyondLiesTheWub	15	change from last week: -10
dee3Poh	15	.430
HHunko13	15
ogsmurf826	15
samtaylor92	15
spaceblev11	15
TyRoland06	15
69nicer	16
70277027	16
BoilerUp28	16
bruhstevenson	16
Dawg-Bite	16
dawgfan24348	16
divey043	16
DownshiftGD	16
dstrainr	16
GrimmacingGrinny	16
Hastronaut	16
idnttcrisis	16
jtsmd2	16
loneSTAR_06	16
m3owzika	16	A close loss to Texas means you belong on my board.
Milflover69cbb	16	Brandon was rough and that was a horrible showing for the oline but there’s rlly no reason to believe 13-16 isn’t where they will live this season
PersianGuitarist	16
RJTrey	16
SaguaroCactus19	16
SpectralHydra	16
tbraptors	16
Tch267702	16
Tortillero96	16	-1 L (3-1) H -3 vs Texas (1) W (3-0) H +33 vs Kennesaw St. (unranked) W (2-0) A +21 vs Georgia Tech (unranked) W (1-0) H +47 vs Furman (unranked)
_THE__BOULDER_	17	Tennessee's offense left a lot to be desired out there, but there's room for positivity too. The O-Line play sucked and their freshman QB got rattled due to getting sacked so often, which I think caused him to miss opportunities against Texas, but he is young and this can be learned from, plus he did end up getting a touchdown to try and give Tennessee a chance to win it late in the 4th. However, Tennessee's defense and special teams played well, including a punt return for a TD, Tennessee's defense gave up less than 300 yards, and really only gave up a few chunk plays of decent yardage in the air, and no run plays that went for more than 11 yards. Then special teams got the onside kick (although there is an argument for it having been a violation), only for it to be wasted on the final offensive drive. The Vols will really need to improve their O-Line play and have their QB settle down a bit to have a shot at anything big this season, but that defense played well and could be a big factor to keeping them in games.
AoA_nB1	17	Absolutely destroyed by the Longhorns D-Line, but they kept fighting
CaptainSpaceYeti	17
Floridamanontherun	17
gonshpreds1	17
Intelligent_Fix_6972	17
jis024	17
JJones927	17
Kareem89086	17
kevinsdomain	17
Key_Solution_4076	17
logace444444444	17
Lucaball3r	17
Mission_Pay_3373	17
n8TLfan	17
NebraskaPlainsman	17
Ok_Boysenberry716	17
pongislame	17	3-1 | L 17-20 vs. 1 Texas
Repulsive_Rub6443	17
S2OP	17	(-7)
SignificanceFirm2398	17
Small_Company_5697	17
TheBeekman8	17
WBLwiffleball	17
buccaneerboy22	18
Ethanol-Muffins	18
JKess207	18
meristematic	18
MyAngelMiraidon	18	-3 - Closer against Texas than I thought it would be, so very small drop even on loss
SportsCat4	18
Star_Wars_Sith	18
Yechibaby09	18
ChiTrojan2	19
drewscottt	19
LonghornInNebraska	19
Midnight-Mustang	19
MotherQuocer	19
MWiatrak2077	19
myworld3	19
New_Prior2253	19
saquad69	19
shouldajustsaid_yeah	19
Signal_Tip_7428	19
Yelich04	19	v2 (A good performance but that offense looked rough. An undefeated team with their only loss to the #1 team in the nation by one score is too good for me not to rank, especially with what the other options are below, but I don't think Tennessee is actually great.)
538allspelledout	20
AliceisStoned	20
bigian52	20
bolts_win_again	20
Crelc3	20
grahamca	20	T24ᵗʰ W/L, T28ᵗʰ Predicted Wins, 14ᵗʰ Team Strength, 13ᵗʰ Quality of Wins
Kyrosiv	20
Noahsince2002	20
OG_Felwinter	20
Ok_Significance_3803	20
Protoco2	20
Pure-Shirt-5831	20
Salmon-Dude	20
Esb5415	21
hiiightide	21
JackWK_Gaming	21
LightningDusty	21	↑NR
LookAtMaxwell	21
Real-Plant-5722	21	Put up a fight against UT, kinda.
Sflabuckeye13	21
CALL_ME_ISHMAEBY	22
NA_Faker	22
666PeaceKeepaGirl	23
ArlyntheAwesome	23	giving Texas fits with very little actual production warrants staying ranked, I expected this game to be a blowout and it to be the same old Tennessee and as such didn't have them ranked, I see the error of my ways.
d1sportsball	23	Looked putrid on offense, showed they were trying their hardest to protect a true freshman QB against bad teams
josh55134	23
manbeqrpig	23
National-Sundae9427	23
S3G	23
Underground_Bread	23
EdselFordEdsel	24
jackmc04	24	(-5)
Jacob_Sumner	24
jibberishdhyukl	24
Yamiosum	24
BlueRFR3100	25
Nervous_Metal_9445	25	-2
NoOutdoorSoup	25
PsychologicalFox8660	25

Blue = Human
Red = Computer
Green = Hybrid

Bold = before the AP poll was published
Normal = after the AP poll was published

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