Tennessee
Tennessee Slides Into the Top 5 of Latest Power Rankings, SEC Teams on the Move | Rocky Top Insider
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.
Tennessee
Vols Make Splash Hire With Jim Knowles | VFL Kevin Burnett Talks Tennessee Football | The RTI Low Down | Rocky Top Insider
On this week’s episode of The RTI Low Down, Bob Baskerville and Chris Low are diving into a huge week for the Tennessee Football program.
The guys start the show by discussing the Vols’ big move to fire Tim Banks and the splash hire in acquiring defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
Bob and Chris are then joined by VFL and SEC Legend Kevin Burnett to talk about his time on Rocky Top, his thoughts on playing under defensive coordinators, Josh Heupel’s current team, and more.
The guys close down the show by breaking down Tennessee’s 2026 schedule, Vol Hoops’ tough test on the hardwood this week, and much more. Download and subscribe TODAY!
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The RTI Low-Down is brought to you by the Tate Insurance Group. Find out more information at www.tateinsurancegroup.com
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More from RTI: Tennessee Football 2025 Transfer Tracker – Who has Announced They’re Entering the Portal So Far
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YouTube –
0:00 Intro
8:30 Tennessee Fires Tim Banks, Hires Jim Knowles
21:25 VFL Kevin Burnett Talks Vol Football!
43:20 UT 2026 Schedule
50:17 Tennessee Basketball Faces Huge Test on Tuesday
1:01:06 Close
Tracking the opt outs for both Tennessee and Illinois before the Music City Bowl on December 30 (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville:
Tennessee
Linebacker Arion Carter: Carter over the last seasons had 96 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 31 career games. He had a team-high 76 tackles this season, with 6.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks while appearing in 10 games. He missed two games and was limited against Oklahoma in November while dealing with turf toe injuries. Carter had 68 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in 13 games last season and 17 tackles and 1.0 tackles for loss in eight games as a freshman in 2023.
Wide Receiver Chris Brazzell II: He a breakout senior season in his second year with the Vols, catching 62 passes for 1,017 yards and nine touchdowns. He had 19 catches for 333 yards and two touchdowns in 2024, after transferring from Tulane. In 15 games at Tulane he caught 45 passes for 722 yards and five touchdowns. Brazzell is ranked No. 7 at wide receiver on Mel Kiper Jr.’s NFL Draft Big Board. He’s ranked No. 34 overall on ESPN’s list of the best available prospects in the draft.
Cornerback Jermod McCoy: Did not play this season after tearing his ACL during offseason training in January. He was a star last season with 44 tackles, nine passes defended and four interceptions. He had 31 tackles and two interceptions in 12 games as a freshman at Oregon State before transferring to Tennessee.
Illinois
Offensive Tackle J.C. Davis: Bret Bielema said the Illinois starting left tackle is opting out of the Music City Bowl. He was an All-Big Ten First Team pick by the league coaches this season and the No. 3 left tackle this season according to Pro Football Focus grades. He had made 49 straight starts before opting out of the bowl game.
EDGE Gabe Jacas: The Illinois outside linebacker declared for the NFL Draft on Friday night. He led the Big Ten this season with 11.0 sacks. He had 13.5 tackles for loss and 43 total tackles in 12 games this season. He finishes second in Illinois program history for career sacks, with 27.0, trailing only Simeon Rice. Jacas had 74 tackles, 8.0 sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss last season, after combining for 8.0 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss in his first two seasons at Illinois.
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