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Tennessee Slides Into the Top 5 of Latest Power Rankings, SEC Teams on the Move | Rocky Top Insider

Published

2 years ago

February 19, 2024

Tennessee Slides Into the Top 5 of Latest Power Rankings, SEC Teams on the Move | Rocky Top Insider

Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

SEC teams are on the move in Jeff Borzello’s latest Top 16 college basketball power rankings from ESPN. The conference had two teams rise in the rankings, one team fall down in the rankings, and one team fall out of the power rankings entirely. The SEC also has a team on the rise despite not being in the rankings at all.

Let’s break it down.

Tennessee, the highest-ranked team from the conference in the AP Poll, slid up and into the Top 5 of Borzello’s rankings after beating Arkansas by 29 points and Vanderbilt by 35 points this week. The Vols were previously hanging out at the eighth spot in Borzello’s rankings last week.

The Vols took care of business on the road in Fayetteville, which was especially important to see after the Vols’ loss at Texas A&M the previous weekend. Tennessee then demolished Vanderbilt at home from start to finish to sweep the Commodores in the regular season.

“Games against Arkansas and Vanderbilt, the two worst offensive teams in the SEC, came at the perfect time for Tennessee to get its defense back on track,” Borzello wrote for ESPN. “The Volunteers were still among the best in the country at that end of the floor, but they had allowed 1.23 points per possession in two of their previous three games. The Razorbacks and Commodores, however, combined to score 0.81 points per possession. Rick Barnes’ team is now just one game back of Alabama in the SEC race.”

More from RTI: Tennessee’s Rod Clark and Zakai Zeigler Preview Missouri Matchup

Downward movement from Marquette, North Carolina, and Kansas allowed Tennessee to rise up to the fifth spot.

Speaking of Alabama, the Crimson Tide were the other team that moved up in Borzello’s rankings, jumping from No. 12 to No. 10 in the country.

Auburn fell two spots from No. 11 to No. 13 in the rankings after a wild week. Bruce Pearl’s unit dominated South Carolina in the midweek game but ended up falling to Kentucky over the weekend.

After an impressive run through the middle of SEC play, South Carolina is now searching for answers after getting blown out by Auburn before losing to LSU at home over the weekend. The Gamecocks dropped out of the power rankings from the 10th spot.

And, lastly, Kentucky is the first team “in the waiting room” after their aforementioned win over Auburn on the road on Saturday. South Carolina is the third and final team in that same category.

To get a full look at Jeff Borzello’s power rankings, click here.

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Tennessee

Alex Golesh hires former Tennessee analyst as Auburn’s coordinator

Published

6 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Alex Golesh hires former Tennessee analyst as Auburn’s coordinator

Alex Golesh was introduced as Auburn’s head coach on Dec. 1. He served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach from 2021-22.

Golesh announced the hiring of Jacob Bronowski as Auburn’s special teams coordinator. He served as the Vols’ special teams analyst in 2021 under head coach Josh Heupel. Bronowski was also under Heupel at UCF in 2020 as special teams quality control.

“His track record is outstanding,” Golesh said of Bronowski. “He developed multiple national award contenders, including a Lou Groza Award winner, and has led some of the top special teams units in the country.

“I saw up close when we worked together before that coach Bronowski understands that special teams can be a championship difference-maker, and he’s proven he can develop elite specialists. He brings exactly the attention to detail and relentless work ethic we need in our program.”

Auburn will play at Tennessee on Oct. 3, 2026.

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Tennessee

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Published

18 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Tennessee football will host Lane Kiffin, Alex Golesh and possibly Arch Manning at Neyland Stadium in the 2026 season.

UT’s opponents for the next four seasons were previously announced. On Dec. 11, the SEC released the dates of every conference game, providing the full picture of the 2026 schedule.

Game times and television designations will be announced later.

Texas will make its first trip ever to Tennessee on Sept. 26. Manning, the Longhorns quarterback, is expected to return for the 2026 season rather than enter the NFL draft. If so, he’ll face the Vols on the home turf of his uncle, legendary quarterback Peyton Manning.

Golesh, the former UT offensive coordinator, is Auburn’s new coach. He will return to Knoxville for an Oct. 3 game.

Alabama will play at Tennessee on Oct. 17, continuing their Third Saturday in October rivalry game.

Kiffin, the polarizing former UT coach, is now coaching LSU after bolting Ole Miss after the regular season ended. He will return to Knoxville for a Nov. 21 game. Three of the five SEC teams visiting Neyland Stadium will have a first-year coach, including Kentucky’s Will Stein on Nov. 7.

Tennessee will play Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt as annual SEC opponents in the league’s new nine-game conference schedule. Its other six opponents will rotate each season. That means each school will play every SEC opponent home and away every four years.

Tennessee will have one open week on Oct. 31 and thus won’t play on Halloween.

Here is Tennessee’s week-to-week schedule for the 2026 season.

Tennessee football 2026 schedule

Sept. 5: Furman
Sept. 12: At Georgia Tech
Sept. 19: Kennesaw State
Sept. 26: Texas*
Oct. 3: Auburn*
Oct. 10: At Arkansas*
Oct. 17: Alabama*
Oct. 24: At South Carolina*
Oct. 31: Open
Nov. 7: Kentucky*
Nov. 14: At Texas A&M*
Nov. 21: LSU*
Nov. 28: At Vanderbilt*

*SEC game

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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Dragos Cazacu signs with Tennessee

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee announced the signing of graduate student Dragos Cazacu on Wednesday. He is from Constanta, Romania.

“Dragos is someone we believe can translate all of his professional experience and success seamlessly to high level college tennis,” Tennessee associate head coach Matt Lucas said. “He’s a very mature young man who has finished university in Romania, so we know the type of student athlete we are getting. Winning ITF Pro Circuit titles, all while doing his degree back home shows he will transition nicely to Tennessee in January.”

Cazacu competed on the ATP Tour prior to Tennessee. His highest ranking was No. 763 in singles and No. 495 in doubles.

Tennessee will begin its spring men’s tennis season versus ETSU on Jan. 9, 2026 at Goodfriend Tennis Center. SEC competition will begin Feb. 21, 2026 at Kentucky.

The Vols’ home opener in SEC play is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2026 versus Auburn at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

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