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 went wrong for Tennessee basketball in loss to Kansas in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – Tennessee basketball squandered a chance to finish 3-0 at the Players Era Festival and remain undefeated.
The No. 16 Vols (7-1) went away from what built their 12-point lead early in the second half, and Kansas (6-2) stormed back to win 81-76 in the third-place game at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Nov. 26.
Here’s what went wrong for Tennessee in its first loss of the season.
Tennessee settled for too many 3-pointers
Tennessee shot 28% on 25 attempts from 3-point range, and it settled for too many shots behind the arc in the second half.
The Vols shot 5-for-13 on 3-pointers in the first half, which wasn’t a bad mark considering Ja’Kobi Gillespie went an uncharacteristic 0-for-3 before halftime. But then they shot 2-for-12 in the second half, and they didn’t score at the rim enough.
“I told our post guys when they’re out there shooting jump shots, I’m sure (Kansas coach) Bill (Self) and his staff were sitting on the bench saying, good let them do it. Let him. We don’t want them in there,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “That goes back to where we didn’t follow the things we talked about and what we need guys to do.”
Barnes didn’t think all the 3-pointers were necessarily bad shots, but there were times they needed to drive the ball and get to the foul line when they were in the double bonus. Barnes believed the 22 free throw attempts would have been even with Kansas’ 30 if the Vols had tried to drive the ball more.
Vols let offensive struggles dictate defense in second half
Tennessee’s 12-point lead started to crumble when the Vols let their offensive struggles dictate their defense.
Kansas started chipping away when it grabbed two offensive rebounds on the same possession and hit a 3-pointer. Then Felix Okpara missed a jumper and Jaylen Carey sent Kansas to the free-throw line. Nate Ament then missed shots on two straight possessions and UT gave up a transition 3-pointer.
Then the Vols started fouling and gave up three and-one plays in an almost three-minute span. Tennessee missed another jumper shortly after and gave up three straight layups to Kansas for a 6-0 run to take a 68-64 lead.
“Second half, I thought they out-competed us when it counted,” Barnes said. “And that’s the hardest thing to take when they’re doing things that we could have done.”
Tennessee needs more from its starting frontcourt
Barnes wasn’t happy with the fact that Okpara and Cade Phillips didn’t have a single offensive rebound between them. The two starters in the frontcourt only combined for five rebounds total in a game that Tennessee got outrebounded 37-36.
The pair combined for 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, and Okpara went 3-for-4 on free throws.
Barnes said the Vols can’t put everything on Gillespie, who shot 1-for-10 on 3-pointers. Gillespie had a heavy load over three days, averaging 34.3 minutes, and he had some great looks that just didn’t fall.
“You look at the stat sheet, too many guys that honestly didn’t do the things that they need to do to help us win,” Barnes said.
Carey was a bright spot in Tennessee’s frontcourt with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. But Barnes believes he can be even better after shooting 3-for-6 on free throws.
“The guys that want to learn from this will do it,” Barnes said. “And they’ll get better and move forward, but it’s not going to get any easier, which is the way it should be.”
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
First Alert Forecast: Much colder air returning to Middle Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Be ready to bundle up the next few days.
NEXT 24 HOURS
A mild start to our Wednesday, with many of us in the 50s, and no major weather issues as we head out the door early today.
This afternoon will be mostly sunny and breezy with temperatures in the mid-50s and winds gusting over 20 mph at times.
Tonight will be much colder, with temperatures dropping into the 30s.
TODAY’S FORECAST
MORNING – Mild and breezy. Temperatures in the 50s.
AFTERNOON – Staying breezy with winds gusting as high as 25 mph. Mostly sunny. Temperatures in the mid-50s.
EVENING – Partly cloudy. Getting colder quickly. Lows in the 30s.
THANKSGIVING FORECAST
MORNING – Cold start. Partly cloudy. Temperatures in the 30s.
AFTERNOON – Very chilly and breezy. Highs in the mid to upper 40s. Wind gusts near 20 mph.
EVENING – Mostly clear. Even colder. Lows in the 20s.
FRIDAY’S FORECAST
MORNING – Frigid and frosty start. Temperatures in the 20s.
AFTERNOON – Staying chilly and mostly sunny. Highs in the mid to upper 40s.
EVENING – Mostly clear, staying cold. Lows in the 30s.
WEEKEND OUTLOOK
Clouds increase on Saturday, but we’ll stay dry with temperatures in the low to mid 50s. Showers and even some rumbles of thunder move in Saturday night and into Sunday morning.
As of now, we do not expect severe weather. Rain will taper off by Sunday afternoon with highs staying in the 50s.
NEXT WEEK
Dry and chilly on Monday under a partly sunny sky with highs in the mid to upper 40s.
We’re closely monitoring a storm system for next week that will bring rain, and potentially even some wintry weather to parts of the Midstate.
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
Tennessee
Tennessee Football Wide Receivers Make History Against Florida
The Tennessee Volunteers played on the road during one of the toughest atmospheres that they will ever see, as it is quite the task to go into The Swamp and compete with not only the Florida Gators, but the hostile environment that comes with it. That is exactly what the Tennessee Volunteers did, which is something they expected to do, but made official.
The Tennessee Volunteers have been haunted by a lasting streak of losses in Gainesville that dates back to 2003. That came to an end on Saturday, as the Vols defeated the Gators under a dominant performance in the first half that seemed to mellow out a bit in the second half. The Vols walked away with a 31-11 victory in what would go down as one of the better performances that the Vols have had in recent memory when it comes to a road game.
Kns Tennessee Football Practice / Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
While fans had a chance to celebrate this win, many have yet to realize that the Tennessee Vols made some history at a certain position group. The Vols made history for the first time in their program, as they eclipsed 700 receiving yards with three receivers. This is the first time that this has ever been done.
The leading receiver for the Vols this season is Chris Brazzell. Brazzell has 926 yards on the season at this point. He also has 8 touchdowns to show at this point in the season. He is an outside receiver who has tortured some defenses this year, which has led to him being the primary focus of any defensive coordinator’s plans and scheme. Brazzell is a semi-finalist for the Biletnikoff Award.
Another receiver who has 700 yards at this point is Braylon Staley. Staley is currently at 771 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Vols have been getting him the ball more and more, as he is the slot receiver, who has been utilized very well in this later part of the season.
The last receiver to eclipse 700 yards is Mike Matthews. Matthews is currently at 712 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sure, he is having the lesser of the seasons at this point, but at any chance he can turn it on, which is something he has shown all season long.
There are two more games left for the Vols, but one left in the regular season. If a guy like Chris Brazzell opts to leave for the Draft, he may opt out of the bowl game (just an educated guess), but guys like Matthews and Staley could very well play in both, as both guys are set to return to college next year due to eligibility issues. Neither is eligible to leave college for the draft.
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