Tennessee

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 4: Tennessee to the top 3; BYU, Navy soar

Published

3 months ago

September 23, 2024

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 4: Tennessee to the top 3; BYU, Navy soar

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

Much of the talk going into Tennessee’s trip to Oklahoma was about Volunteers coach Josh Heupel’s return to his alma mater, Heupel was right when, through teary eyes, he told his players that Saturday’s 25-15 win against the Sooners was about them and their future. Right now, Tennessee’s future looks like an SEC contender.

After a road win that wasn’t as close as the final score, Tennessee moves up to No. 3 in this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.

Through four games, the Vols have shown they can win in different ways, and that should bode well in SEC play. Saturday’s win was an ugly one, and that’s not a bad thing. Two years ago, the Tennessee team that finished No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings could put up 40 or 50 points on almost everyone, but it ranked 31st in yards per rush on offense and 48th in yards per play allowed on defense. This Tennessee team can run the ball and play better defense.

Yes, Oklahoma’s offense has struggled, but Tennessee played a game in which it knew it could hold on to a lead, run the ball and play defense to run out the clock, and that’s what happened. The Vols passed the ball 21 times and ran it 49 times (excluding sacks) while missing two offensive tackles. The Sooners averaged 1.1 yards per carry and turned it over three times.

Tennessee is playing complete ball right now, and after one of the best wins of the weekend, the Vols move up in the rankings.

GO DEEPER

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Remember Travis Hunter’s dominance. Plus, ‘new’ CFB is here

We’ve reached the point where most teams are one-third of the way through their season. Head-to-head results aren’t weighted as heavily for teams that aren’t on the same tier (goodbye, Northern Illinois), but some lopsided results this weekend resulted in some final few big jumps.

Here is the Week 5 edition of The Athletic 134.

1-10

Rank	Record	Prev
1	4-0	1
2 Advertisement	3-0	2
3	4-0	5 Advertisement
4	3-0	3
5	4-0 Advertisement	4
6	4-0	6
7 Advertisement	3-0	7
8	3-0	8 Advertisement
9	4-0	11
10	3-0 Advertisement	10

Other than Tennessee’s rise, the only change here is that Missouri moves out of the top 10 and Utah moves up to No. 9 after the Utes’ 22-19 win at Oklahoma State that was 22-3 at one point in the fourth quarter. I don’t think the ceiling of this Utah team is high without quarterback Cam Rising, but the defense is as nasty as it’s ever been, and the Utes are the Big 12 favorite.

Georgia’s trip to Alabama this Saturday will shake up next week’s rankings.

To acknowledge Ohio State, my preseason No. 1 has now dropped down to No. 4 simply because of the schedule. The three teams above the Buckeyes have played much better opponents. Games against Iowa and Oregon to open October will be Ohio State’s first chance to start climbing back up.

GO DEEPER

AP Top 25 takeaways: Who’s No. 1? Tennessee can’t be dismissed in SEC-heavy debate

11-25

I can’t tell whether Missouri is not as good as we expected or just playing with its food too much. Beating Vanderbilt in overtime after playing Boston College unexpectedly close were not performances indicative of a top-10 team. The Tigers are testing my patience and will continue to drop with play like that, even though their schedule is very favorable for an SEC team.

Michigan jumps back up to No. 11 after a comeback win to beat USC at home. Like Utah, I don’t think the Wolverines’ ceiling is high — the offense went nowhere once USC adjusted — but they are also better in the trenches than almost everyone they’ll play. BYU makes a big jump up to No. 16 after a 38-9 beatdown of Kansas State, a previous top-15 team. The final margin wasn’t indicative of the box score numbers in K-State’s favor, but BYU’s defense looks solid, and its earlier win at SMU looks better after Saturday’s results.

Illinois climbs up to No. 18 after a win at Nebraska. The Illini are grabbing takeaways and playing efficiently on offense. This team plays really hard and could be another Bret Bielema overachieving classic. Louisville finally played someone of note, moving up to No. 23 after a 31-19 win against Georgia Tech. Indiana also moves into the top 25 at No. 24 not because the Hoosiers demolished Charlotte but because they’ve demolished everyone so far. The next game against Maryland will tell us whether this is for real.

Welcome to the top 25, Washington State. The Cougars are 4-0 after stopping a two-point attempt to beat San Jose State in overtime, and their earlier win against Texas Tech looks better this week. They can only reach the CFP as an at-large team this year and next, meaning they’ll have to be ranked around the top 10.

GO DEEPER

Michigan proved it can win ugly against USC. That’s all that matters — for now

26-50

If Oklahoma wasn’t “Oklahoma,” the Sooners wouldn’t be ranked in the top 25. They haven’t been good all season outside of their opening blowout of Temple, and they drop to No. 26 here facing major questions on offense with the benching of quarterback Jackson Arnold. Iowa still can’t pass the ball, but its new offense is opening lanes for explosive running back Kaleb Johnson. The Hawkeyes slide up to No. 28 after beating Minnesota. Texas Tech jumps up to No. 35 after beating previously unbeaten Arizona State. It’s possible neither of these teams are as good as their ranking, but for now, they’ll sit here.

SMU’s 66-42 win against TCU sees the Mustangs come up to No. 36; their earlier loss to BYU doesn’t look as bad after what BYU did to Kansas State. Navy makes the biggest jump of the week, from No. 105 to No. 37, after beating Memphis. The 3-0 Midshipmen have scored their most points through three games since 1918 and might end up being one of the better teams in the AAC. Northern Illinois tumbles to No. 38 after blowing an 11-point lead and losing to Buffalo in overtime.

Arkansas’ 24-14 win against Auburn moves the Razorbacks up to No. 41, while Cal’s loss to Florida State sees the Golden Bears drop to No. 42. James Madison had not played well this year, but a stunning 70-50 win at North Carolina vaults the Dukes up to No. 44.

GO DEEPER

How JMU, a former women’s teaching school, became a college sports disruptor

51-75

North Carolina had been playing well before Saturday, but that JMU loss drops the Tar Heels to No. 55. Virginia Tech tumbles to No. 58 after a late loss to Rutgers. The larger problem is that two losses to Rutgers and Vanderbilt now leave Virginia Tech without many chances for notable wins. NC State also drops to No. 59 after a 59-35 loss to Clemson, the Wolfpack’s second beating of the season at the hands of an AP Top 25 team.

Toledo is another Group of 5 darling that drops, this time after a dramatic loss at Western Kentucky. TCU falls to No. 69 after losing to SMU, while Stanford jumps up to No. 70 after beating Syracuse on a last-second field goal. TCU’s head-to-head win against Stanford explains their relative positioning. Wisconsin dropped to No. 71 without playing, but that’s simply because other teams (like Stanford) got good wins while Wisconsin was idle. Army is 3-0 and looking quite solid thus far. Service academies back on the rise, perhaps? Cincinnati is up to 3-1 and No. 73 after a 34-0 win against Houston, and the Bearcats may be rounding into form. If not for that blown fourth quarter against Pitt…

Kansas is down to No. 74 after another one-score loss, this time to West Virginia, and Florida State is up to No. 75 after beating Cal, becoming the final Power 4 team to get a victory.

GO DEEPER

Stewart Mandel’s 12-team Playoff projections after Week 4

76-100

No. 77 San Jose State lost to Washington State, but the Spartans are looking quite good under first-year coach Ken Niumatalolo so far. Virginia leapfrogs Coastal Carolina to No. 79 after beating the Chanticleers. South Florida drops to No. 78 after a 50-15 loss to Miami. The Bulls’ nonconference schedule has been rough.

Bowling Green moves up to No. 86 after a one-score loss to Texas A&M, which came after a one-score loss to Penn State. This feels like a team that could do a lot of damage in the MAC. Same with Buffalo, which is 3-1 and No. 87 after beating Northern Illinois. Sam Houston is 3-1 and up to No. 91 after taking care of business against New Mexico State and could make noise in Conference USA.

South Alabama is the toughest team to rank this week. The Jaguars have losses to Ohio and North Texas but beat Appalachian State 48-14 on the road. They were missing quarterback Gio Lopez against Ohio, so maybe they’ve just figured things out after an 0-2 start? Or maybe App State is in big trouble the rest of the year. This is a South Alabama team we need to see more of to get a better read.

Mississippi State is the lowest-ranked Power 4 team at No. 98, and quarterback Blake Shapen is out for the year after suffering a shoulder injury in the 45-28 loss to Florida. Annnnnd next up on the schedule are Texas and Georgia. I’m so sorry, Bulldogs.

GO DEEPER

College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Utah back in, USC hangs on in bracket

101-134

Shoutout to No. 108 Troy and No. 125 Temple for their first wins of the season. I thought Temple could be an 0-12 candidate, but the Owls beat Utah State 45-29. Is UConn turning a corner? The Huskies played Duke close last week and whipped FAU 48-14 on Saturday, moving up to No. 113.

FIU, meanwhile, lost to FCS Monmouth at Pitbull Stadium and falls to No. 115. Tulsa beat Louisiana Tech in overtime to move up to No. 118. Wyoming is tumbling fast, now down to No. 130 after a 44-17 loss to North Texas. The Cowboys, a perennial bowl team under Craig Bohl, have three blowout losses to FBS teams and a loss to FBS Idaho in Jay Sawvel’s first season.

Kent State remains at the bottom after getting outgained 718-67 in total yards against Penn State. That is the largest gap I can ever remember seeing, off the top of my head.

The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo: Brian Bahr / Getty Images)

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Tennessee

What Nico Iamaleava said after Tennessee football's loss at Ohio State

Published

1 hour ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

What Nico Iamaleava said after Tennessee football’s loss at Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tennessee’s path to the College Football Playoff had been paved with cold-from-behind wins.

On Saturday night at Ohio Stadium, the Vols didn’t have another comeback effort in them.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Hindered by an uncharacteristic performance from its typically reliable defense and injuries, No. 9 Tennessee fell behind three scores in the first half against No. 8 Ohio State and didn’t have the offense to make up for it, leading to a 42-17 defeat that ended its season.

The Vols (10-3) had been plagued by slow starts through the first half of the season, more often than not able to find enough life to win.

They did it against Florida, Alabama and Vanderbilt in the triumph that clinched their first-ever playoff berth.

But that kind of start proved costly vs. the Buckeyes (11-2), who posted more than 430 yards of total offense and never came close to giving up their lead.

If there was any positive that could have been gleaned from Tennessee’s performance, it was quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Iamaleava, at times during those stagnant starts looked very much like a freshman quarterback trying to find his footing as a now full-time starter.

In the second half of the season, though Iamaleava was more poised and the Vols’ began flourish on that side of the ball.

Tennessee didn’t flourish in many areas on Saturday. What small doses of momentum they found almost always involved Iamaleava.

He ran the ball 20 times for 47 yards, extending drive and rushing for both of the Vols’ only touchdowns.

Here is everything Iamaleava said about the performance.

On if he expected to run the ball 20 times

“I mean, 20 (carries). No, I did not expect to run that many times. Some shots that were there, and overall as a team we didn’t just execute the whole game plan, so got to be better.”

On what disappointed him most about the performance

“Just started off slow. We were supposed to come in, had a great game plan to come in and fire first, and they hit us in the mouth first. We were just trying to recover that whole game. First half I thought we did a great job of that, and second half coming in I thought we could have played at a way higher level than we did.”

On what team can take away from loss

“I think just use it as motivation. We’ve been putting in work since January to get to this point, and it sucks to go out that way because that’s not who we are. love this team. I love the team we have. Just the way tonight went was not the way we wanted it to go, and we’ll use that as fuel and motivation during this off-season to really hit it.”

On what Tennessee needs to do to beat better teams on the road

“I think that all just comes to executing on the road. Like I said, our coaches gave us a great game plan, and us as players, as the team, we’re the ones out there on the field playing, and we’ve just got to hold ourselves to a higher standard and execute at a higher level.”

On Dylan Sampson and Dont’e Thornton Jr. dealing with injuries, how it effected the game

“Shoot, at the end of the day, man, whoever is out there, whether it’s a freshman or not, we’ve got to be able to execute the same way with those guys or not, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight.“

On the difference between running an offense at home and on the road

“I would just say there’s a crowd noise that plays a factor in how we play. We can’t play as fast as we want to without tempo, and that’s really the biggest factor was crowd noise.”

On what personnel Tennessee can add to open up the offense

“Obviously in the off-season, me, Coach Joey, and Coach Heup are always have conversations about how we can excel this offense, and it’ll be that in the off-season, too.”

On large contingent of Tennessee fans that were at Ohio Stadium

“I love it. Man, I was so happy to see all the orange in the stands. It sucks the performance we gave out for them, but I hope they get home safe, man. I really appreciate their support.”

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Tennessee

Ohio State Shows Major Resolve in CFP Win Over Tennessee

Published

9 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Ohio State Shows Major Resolve in CFP Win Over Tennessee

The Ohio State Buckeyes’ loss to the Michigan Wolverines now feels like ages ago.

Ohio State went into its first-round College Football Playoff matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers with major question marks.

Will Howard was under fire. The play calling was in the crosshairs. Ryan Day’s job security had become a regular topic of discussion.

But then, the Buckeyes hammered Tennessee by a score of 42-17 to advance to the Rose Bowl for a chance for revenge against the Oregon Ducks.

Ohio State put together arguably its best performance of the season against a very tough Tennessee opponent. The Buckeyes scored 21 points in the first quarter, immediately sending a message to the Volunteers—and the country—that they meant business.

Howard, who looked like a deer in headlights in the regular-season finale against Michigan, stepped up with a significant performance. Yes, there was the red zone interception, but in the end, it was no harm, no foul (he probably shouldn’t do that against Oregon, though).

Jeremiah Smith looked every bit of the phenom we all thought he was heading into 2024. The defense was tremendous. Day? He coached a terrific game.

But the most impressive part of this showing by Ohio State was the resolve that it demonstrated, picking itself up off the mat after a soul-crushing defeat to the Wolverines earlier in the month.

I have to admit: I wasn’t sure if the Buckeyes had this in them. Not after they mustered just 10 points against a far inferior Michigan opponent, a game in which they were physically beaten up.

And considering that Tennessee’s defense was even stingier than Michigan’s this year, I certainly didn’t anticipate that Ohio State would drop 42 points.

Nevertheless, here we are.

A couple of weeks ago, it was beginning to look like the Buckeyes wouldn’t even have a chance against Oregon. Heck, there were some who felt that the Volunteers would beat them.

It wasn’t due to a lack of talent, either. It was more due to the thought that Ohio State lacked an identity and didn’t seem to have the mental fortitude required to win a national championship.

Remember: the Buckeyes also lost to the Ducks earlier in the season as a result of some mental erros and not being able to seal the deal.

So the concerns surrounding Ohio State heading into the College Football Playoff were legitimate.

But the Buckeyes appear to have flipped a switch, and it appears that their tenacity has finally matched their excessive talent.

Now, we’ll see if Ohio State can exact revenge on Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

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Tennessee-Ohio State live updates: How to watch, predictions, odds for CFP game

Published

17 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee-Ohio State live updates: How to watch, predictions, odds for CFP game

The first round of the College Football Playoff is nearly complete, with the final game of the slate featuring Ohio State vs. Tennessee in “The Shoe.”

Two of the most recognizable brands in college football, Tennessee and Ohio State arrive in the 12-team playoff with at-large bids, falling just short of reaching their respective conference championship games and snatching one of the top four byes in the bracket.

Tennessee will be making its first playoff after going 10-2, which included a win over Alabama that likely is the reason why the Volunteers are in the playoff. No strangers to the playoff, Ohio State arrives with a fan base that isn’t all too thrilled with head coach Ryan Day after losing a fourth consecutive year to Michigan. A national championship is still possible, but the pressure is on for Day to deliver a deep playoff run and possibly save his job. Will the Buckeyes get a much-needed win, or will Tennessee pull off the upset in front of more than 100,000 fans?

It’s the second time Tennessee and Ohio State have faced each other, and the winner of the first-round finale has a tough date ahead of them. The victor will head west to Pasadena to play No. 1 overall seed Oregon in the “Granddaddy of them all,” the Rose Bowl Game on New Year’s Day.

When is the College Football Playoff between Tennessee and Ohio State

The College Football Playoff first-round game between the No. 9-seed Tennessee Volunteers and the No. 8-seed Ohio State Buckeyes kicks off at 8 p.m. ET at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio

How to watch College Football Playoff between Tennessee and Ohio State

The College Football Playoff first-round game between the No. 9-seed Tennessee Volunteers and the No. 8-seed Ohio State Buckeyes will be televised nationally on ABC and ESPN.

Live streaming is also available on Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Catch Tennessee vs. Ohio State with a Fubo subscription which has a free trial

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the favorites to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers in this first-round College Football Playoff game, according to the BetMGM college football odds on Saturday.

Spread: Ohio State (-7)
Moneyline: Ohio State (-275); Tennessee (+220)
Over/under: 46.5

USA TODAY Sports: No. 8 Ohio State over No. 9 Tennessee

Paul Myerberg writes: “This is the premier pairing of the opening round and a nice barometer of how playoff games could unfold between the best of the best in the Big Ten and SEC. Given two evenly matched teams with similar traits, two factors will make the difference in Ohio State’s favor: homefield advantage and a more credible offense. Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard has more experience and better skill options. But another big game from Volunteers signal caller Nico Iamaleava could easily shift this game in the opposite direction.”

ESPN: Ohio State has 65% chance to win

According to ESPN’s Matchup Predictor, the Ohio State Buckeyes have a 65.5% chance to beat the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

College Football Network: Ohio State 27, Tennessee 23

Will Helms writes: “To be clear, I think Ohio State’s offense is capable of moving the ball down the field through the air, but Tennessee’s defensive line could feast against a reshuffled Buckeyes O-line. But I also trust (offensive coordinator Chip) Kelly to find ways to scheme open elite playmakers like Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka. If this becomes a close game, Ohio State’s experience can make a difference. However, I like the Volunteers as one of the best bets of the opening round. The Buckeyes’ experience and depth should help them close this out, but take the Volunteers to cover in a close one that ticks over.”

Sports Illustrated: Tennessee Volunteers

James Parks writes: “Tennessee +7.5 … We’re taking the Vols to win straight-up on the road given their outright advantage on a very dominant defensive front, which should overpower a Buckeyes offensive line down two key starters to injury, while Dylan Sampson and Tennessee’s gifted ground game do the rest.”

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