Tennessee
CFP Committee Chair's Illogical Explanation For Why Two Teams Jumped Tennessee | Rocky Top Insider
Tennessee football landed at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night. It is the exact same spot that they debuted in the rankings the week before. However, a pair of teams jumping the Vols in the rankings was very notable.
Both Indiana and BYU were ranked behind Tennessee a week ago but jumped the Vols to fill the two-spots right ahead of them after Georgia lost at Ole Miss and Miami lost against Georgia Tech last weekend.
“It really came down to the play last week of both Indiana and BYU, both winning big games on their schedule,” College Football Playoff Chair Warde Manuel said. “BYU, obviously undefeated, two wins against top-25 opponents, at SMU and against Kansas State. In looking at it, as we assessed all the teams, we just felt that Indiana and BYU earned the 5 and the 6 slot, and Tennessee stayed where they are.”
Manuel, who is the Michigan Athletic Director, explanation for BYU and Indiana jumping Tennessee is illogical. Indiana earned a 20-15 home win over Michigan (5-5) while BYU defeated Oklahoma State (4-5) 22-21 in Stillwater last week. Both the Wolverines and Cowboys landed in the preseason top 25 but have not been good teams this season. Not only were they not quality wins, but neither team was impressive in their victory.
Tennessee undoubtedly beat a worst opponent in Mississippi State (2-8) last Saturday but the Vols did it much more convincingly, knocking off the Bulldogs 33-19 despite starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava missing the second half with an injury.
More From RTI: Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava Reprtedly In Concussion Protocol And Practiced Tuesday
Iamaleava exiting the game against Mississippi State and his status being uncertain for Saturday’s game at Georgia did not affect Tennessee’s ranking according to Manuel.
“I can say no to the injury to Tennessee’s quarterback. It had nothing to do with it,” Manuel said.
Both BYU and Indiana are undefeated at this point in the season and have cases to be ranked ahead of Tennessee. However, there was nothing that happened last weekend that would justify the two jumping the Vols in the rankings.
Tennessee’s offensive struggles were another reason mentioned for why the committee ranked Indiana and BYU over the Vols.
“Tennessee, the offense has struggled some the second half of the season, not being consistent early in the year, and we just felt as a committee that at this time Indiana has been playing very well, a close win against Michigan, but other than that, they’ve dominated everyone they’ve played.”
Tennessee’s 33 points against a bad Mississippi State defense were the most they’ve scored in a single game since its September win over Kent State with.
The Vols do control their own destiny and can all but lock up their spot in the College Football Playoffs by knocking off No. 12 Georgia (7-2, 5-2 SEC) on Saturday night in Athens. The Bulldogs are coming off a loss at Ole Miss and have to run the table to have any chance at making the 12-team playoff.
The Vols could land in the playoffs even with a loss against Georgia but that is far from a certainty with this week’s rankings and the logjam of potential SEC teams that could finish with a 10-2 record.
Indiana has by far the hardest game on its schedule remaining as the Hoosiers will face Ohio State in Columbus on Nov. 23. The Hoosiers best win in their 10-2 start to the season is either its home win over Washington (5-5) or home win over Michigan (5-5). Indiana’s only win over a team with a winning record is Nebraska (5-4).
Kickoff between Tennessee and Georgia is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe are on the call for ABC.
Tennessee
What You Need to Know About Tennessee Softball’s Path to Another WCWS | Rocky Top Insider

Tennessee softball’s path back to the Women’s College World Series is set. On Sunday night, the Lady Vols were named the No. 7 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament and will host the regional stage in Knoxville as it looks to return to the WCWS in back-to-back seasons.
The Lady Vols are matched up with Virginia, Indiana and Northern Kentucky in the regionals. It would play Georgia, Clemson, UNC Greensboro or Charleston in the super regionals.
Ahead of the tournament, here’s a look at each team in the Knoxville Regional and potential matchups for the ensuing best-of-three super regional if Tennessee advances.
Knoxville Regional
7-seed Virginia
- 2026 record
- 2026 conference tournament result
- 2025 NCAAT result
- 2026 BAVG leader
- 2026 HR leader
- 2026 ERA leader
Indiana
- 2026 record
- 2026 conference tournament result
- 2025 NCAAT result
- 2026 BAVG leader
- 2026 HR leader
- 2026 ERA leader
Northern Kentucky
- 2026 record
- 2026 conference tournament result
- 2025 NCAAT result
- 2026 BAVG leader
- 2026 HR leader
- 2026 ERA leader
More From RTI: Everything Josh Elander Said After Tennessee Baseball Dropped Series Finale Against Texas
Knoxville Super Regional
3-seed Georgia
- 2026 record
- 2026 conference tournament result
- 2025 NCAAT result
- 2026 BAVG leader
- 2026 HR leader
- 2026 ERA leader
6-seed Clemson
- 2026 record
- 2026 conference tournament result
- 2025 NCAAT result
- 2026 BAVG leader
- Jamison Brockenbrough – .342
- 2026 HR leader
- 2026 ERA leader
UNC Greensboro
- 2026 record
- 2026 conference tournament result
- 2025 NCAAT result
- 2026 BAVG leader
- 2026 HR leader
- 2026 ERA leader
- Brooklyn Shroyer – 1.41
Charleston
- 2026 record
- 2026 conference tournament result
- 2025 NCAAT result
- 2026 BAVG leader
- 2026 HR leader
- 2026 ERA leader
- Mackenzie Mathis – 3.34
Tennessee
Tennessee rowing wins first SEC championship in program history
Tennessee rowing won the program’s first SEC championship in a thrilling finish on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge.
The title came down to the final race with the varsity eight boat, which had the lead against Texas going into the final 250 meters. The Longhorns made a late push to overtake the Lady Vols, but the 1V8 crew held on for the victory to secure the SEC championship on May 10.
Tennessee narrowly beat Texas 79-75 to win the title. It’s the first time the Lady Vols have won a conference championship since 2013 when they were a member of Conference USA.
The program’s first SEC title comes in the third season under coach Kim Cupini, who has transformed Tennessee into a national powerhouse.
“Phenomenal to see that from the team”, Cupini said in a school release. “Texas coming in was the number one team in the country and had that undefeated eight. So to see the varsity eight clinch like that was awesome. I have to take my hat off to the full team to get enough points to win the SEC Championship and bring that championship home, especially here at home in Tennessee. So, I was super impressed and super proud of them.”
Tennessee moves on to the NCAA Championships at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia, from May 29-31.
Tennessee narrowly beat Texas 79-75 with four total wins, which also included the 2V4, 3V8 and 3V4.
The 1V8 boat finished with a time of 6:06.939 for the win. The first varsity eight crew has beaten eight ranked opponents on the season.
The 2V4 was a crucial comeback win for Tennessee. The second varsity four crew fell behind early but caught up to and overtook Texas in the final 500 meters for the win, finishing with a time of 7:12.677.
“I think the boats on the water saw that,” Cupini said. “To be able to race from behind in the event and win is incredible. The second four, we were going crazy on that. It was a group that just got together the other day. They row together a lot as a team and as a group, but that lineup hasn’t been together. So to see them pull that off and get the win was incredible.”
Tennessee swept the third varsity races, with the 3V8 finishing with a time of 6:29.409 and the 3V4 finishing with a time of 7:16.747. The Lady Vols placed second in the 2V8 and 1V4, losing to Texas by a combined 11 seconds.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
Tennessee
Report suggests Tennessee middle class income grew 18% in 10 years
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