Tennessee
Why Tennessee football playoff rankings don’t matter to Josh Heupel but should to you
Coach Josh Heupel understands why Tennessee football fans will watch the first College Football Playoff rankings show on Tuesday night, but it won’t be must-see TV for him.
“Do you remember what the first rankings were last year? I don’t either,” Heupel said. “So it doesn’t matter. What they remember is where you finish as November wraps up.”
For what it’s worth, Tennessee was No. 17 in the first CFP poll last season. And it never factored into the playoff race.
In 2022, the Vols were ranked No. 1 in the first CFP poll. They dropped out of the four-team bracket after losing to Georgia and never got back in.
So Heupel makes a fair point. A team’s finish matters instead of its start when it comes to the playoff rankings.
But in this new 12-team playoff format, there’s more room to maneuver from week to week and still stay in the mix.
The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). A new top 25 will then be released by the CFP selection committee every Tuesday through Dec. 3.
The 12-team playoff field will be announced on Dec. 8.
Focus on Mississippi State before worrying about Georgia
Tennessee is ranked No. 6 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the AP Top 25. Where the Vols are placed in the CFP rankings will indicate what the selection committee thinks of their resume thus far.
But Heupel is right that Tennessee (7-1, 4-1 SEC) will make or break its playoff chances by what it does in the next four games, beginning with Saturday’s contest (7 p.m., ESPN) against Mississippi State (2-7, 0-5).
“Playoff rankings at this point don’t matter. You don’t have control over it,” Heupel said. “All you have control over is your preparation and how you play. Ultimately, that determines where you’re at or where you’re not at.
“For this football team, we’ve got to continue to grow and get better and control those things that we’re in control of.”
If Tennessee beats Mississippi State, its trip to Georgia on Nov. 16 (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) would have a massive impact on the SEC and playoff races.
Are Vols talking about College Football Playoff chances?
No. 2 Georgia (7-1, 5-1) plays at No. 12 Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC).
Ole Miss likely would drop out of the playoff race with a loss, and Georgia would be in the driver’s seat for a playoff bid and SEC championship game berth.
A Georgia loss to Ole Miss would put the Bulldogs in a potential playoff elimination game against Tennessee.
Tennessee would be a playoff shoo-in by winning its final four games for an 11-1 record. Losing to Georgia only and finishing 10-2 would set up a toss-up situation for the Vols, who would need help from other playoff contenders.
Alabama (6-2, 3-2) plays at LSU (6-2, 3-1) on Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC) in a likely playoff elimination game. And there are games in other conferences that will impact next week’s CFP rankings. But none of that matters to the Vols unless they beat Mississippi State to stay in the race.
“It’s just a one-week season at this point. And we’ve talked about us being in control of our destiny,” tight end Holden Staes said. “But in terms of the big picture with the College Football Playoff, we know down the road that will come. But if we just take it one week at a time and do our job each week, then we’ll have the results in terms of that at the end.”
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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The best regional moment of every Tennessee baseball run under Tony Vitello
Tennessee baseball gets its 2025 NCAA Tournament run started on Friday as it hosts another Knoxville Regional.
The Vols are set to play their sixth NCAA Tournament under Tony Vitello with four regional wins already under their belts.
Let’s take a look back at the best moment of every regional UT has been in under Vitello.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
2019: Vols get out of bases-loaded, ninth-inning jam with season on the line
In 2019, Tennessee was down to the bottom of the ninth, up one on Liberty. Both teams had already lost a game, making it an elimination matchup.
With Redmond Walsh on the mound, the Flames loaded the bases and drew a hit-by-pitch to tie the game. With no outs, just one more run crossing would end the season a game short of the regional finals.
Walsh would force a line out then inning-ending double play to force extra innings. Tennessee added one run in the 10th to secure the win.
2021: Drew Gilbert hits walk-off grand slam
In 2021, Tennessee was off to a rocky start. The Vols trailed Wright State at home by three in the ninth.
Tennessee started to get the offense rolling with its back against the wall, though. UT loaded the bases for Drew Gilbert. After taking a hack and missing at strike one, Wright State hung a breaking ball that Gilbert clobbered.
The walk-off grand slam needed each run to clinch the 9-8 victory. The Vols went on to make the first College World Series under Vitello in large thanks to not having to climb out of this early regional hole.
2022: Tennessee rallies in the ninth to beat Georgia Tech
Tennessee entered the 2022 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the country. After winning both the SEC regular season and tournament titles, the Vols had put together one of the best years in baseball history to this point.
In the regionals, Tennessee went into the ninth inning against Georgia Tech behind 4-3, though. The Vols got two on base to start the inning before Jordan Beck roped a double to tie the game. He may or may not have signaled his excitement to the outfield, as well.
With the bases loaded, Trey Lipscomb was hit by a pitch to score another run. Christian Moore and Evan Russell added RBI singles and Cortland Lawson produced a sac-fly to provide the necessary cushion to win.
The following video is a breakdown of the inning, but it does use NSFW language.
2023: Zane Denton homers in the ninth to take the lead
On the road, Tennessee had its back against the wall in the ninth against Clemson. Down two runs, the Vols were down to their final out.
After Moore singled to keep the game alive, Blake Burke also reached on an infield single. This brought up Zane Denton with the tying run on first.
Denton uncorked a ball deep to left field to take the lead. This kept the game alive, but the Tigers did respond to tie the match in the ninth. Tennessee ultimately won in 14 innings thanks to a Hunter Ensley double.
Ultimately, the Vols made another CWS run.
2024: Kaveres Tears gives Tennessee the lead in the regional finals
Tennessee had two chances to beat Southern Miss in the regional finals and for a moment, it looked like it’d need them both. The Vols trailed 3-2 entering the sixth inning of game one of the finals.
However, Kavares Tears made up for it. He lifted a three-run shot in the sixth to give Tennessee a lead it wouldn’t surrender. The Vols added one more in the inning, as well, to provide some cushion.
This made way for a rally that pushed Tennessee to a 12-3 win to punch its ticket to the super regionals. Ultimately, the Vols won the national title.
Tennessee softball is heading back to Oklahoma City after beating Nebraska in the NCAA super regional.
The No. 7 seed Lady Vols (45-15) are making their ninth appearance in the Women’s College World Series, and their second in the last three years. Tennessee and star pitcher Karlyn Pickens will face No. 2 seed Oklahoma (50-7) to open the WCWS on May 29 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Tennessee’s last trip to Oklahoma City was in 2023 when it made a run to the semifinals before being eliminated.
Buy tickets for Tennessee softball vs. Oklahoma in WCWS
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup with the Sooners.
Tennessee, Karlyn Pickens beat Oklahoma in road series
Tennessee started the road series at Oklahoma with a 5-2 win in extra innings thanks to catcher Sophia Nugent, who started her career as a Sooner. Nugent hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, giving the Lady Vols a 4-2 lead before Laura Mealer scored on a wild pitch.
Tennessee then lost 4-1 in Game 2, only logging four hits – and Taylor Pannell had three of them and scored the lone run with a solo home run. But the Lady Vols won the rubber match 5-3, scoring all five runs in the fourth inning. Mealer hit a two-RBI double before Ella Dodge blasted a three-run homer to win the game.
Karlyn Pickens had 12 strikeouts, 10 hits allowed, three walks, one hit by pitch and four earned runs in 12⅔ innings over the series. Sage Mardjetko had four strikeouts, six hits allowed, eight walks and five earned runs in 5⅓ innings. Erin Nuwer pitched three innings with two strikeouts, one hit allowed, one walk and one hit by pitch.
Oklahoma softball offense has firepower
The Sooners once again have one of the strongest offenses in the country. They rank No. 2 in home runs per game (2.02) with 115 on the season. Oklahoma is No. 5 in scoring with an average of 7.75 runs per game and 442 total.
Ella Parker leads OU’s offense with a .416 batting average, and Kasidi Pickering is right behind her at .413. Four more batters are hitting above .300, and Gabbie Garcia leads the team with 20 home runs. Pickering has hit 18 homers, and six Sooners total have hit at least 11 this season.
They also don’t strike out often. The Sooners have only struck out 207 times, which is only 3.63 times per game.
Karlyn Pickens vs Sam Landry pitchers’ duel is brewing
Senior right-hander Sam Landry (23-4) became the Sooners’ ace after transferring from Louisiana. She leads the OU staff with a 1.92 ERA with 170 strikeouts in 167⅔ innings pitched.
Tennessee had eight hits against Landry in Game 1, but then it was held to four hits in the next two games.
Pickens (24-9), the back-to-back SEC Pitcher of the Year, leads Tennessee’s staff with a 1.00 ERA. She has thrown 280 strikeouts in 204 innings, and opponents have hit .168 against her. In two straight elimination games against Nebraska, Pickens threw 21 strikeouts in 14 innings with only seven hits allowed, two walks and two earned runs.
Karlyn Pickens throws fastest softball pitch ever recorded – again
Pickens already broke Monica Abbott’s record for fastest softball pitch ever recorded in March when she threw 78.2 mph against Arkansas. But she topped her own record in Game 3 against Nebraska.
In the first at-bat of the game, Pickens threw 79.4 mph. It was Nebraska pitcher Jordy Bahl’s first at-bat of the game, and she fouled off the record-breaking pitch.
Pickens had already hit 77 mph twice this season before breaking the record Abbott originally set the record during a National Pro Fastpitch game in 2012.
Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma: Series history
Tennessee is 7-8 all time against Oklahoma, which owns a 4-3 record vs the Lady Vols at neutral sites. After taking the road series in March, Tennessee is 4-3 against OU in Norman.
Before meeting for the first time in SEC play this season, the last time Tennessee faced the Sooners was in the opening game of the 2023 WCWS. Oklahoma beat the Lady Vols 9-0 in five innings.
Watch Tennessee softball vs. Oklahoma on Fubo (free trial)
What time does Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma start?
- Date: Thursday, May 29
- Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Devon Park in Oklahoma City
What TV channel is Tennessee softball vs Oklahoma on?
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma could extend its record run of consecutive national titles to five at this year’s Women’s College World Series.
Patty Gasso’s second-seeded Sooners will face No. 7 seed Tennessee in their WCWS opener. Oklahoma beat Alabama on Saturday to win the Norman Super Regional.
Action in the eight-team double-elimination bracket begins Thursday at Devon Park. The final two teams will play for the title in a best-of-three series starting June 4.
Gasso, who will coach the United States at the 2028 Summer Olympics, has led the Sooners to eight national titles, including six of the past eight and seven of 10. This was Oklahoma’s first season in the Southeastern Conference.
In other opening-day matchups, third-seeded Florida will play No. 6 seed Texas, No. 9 seed UCLA meets No. 16 seed Oregon and No. 12 seed Texas Tech will face unseeded Mississippi.
Oklahoma will face Tennessee star pitcher Karlyn Pickens, who broke her NCAA record by throwing a 79.4 mph pitch during Saturday’s win over Nebraska. Pickens then shut out the Cornhuskers 1-0 on Sunday.
Nebraska’s loss means Oklahoma won’t be facing former Sooners pitcher Jordy Bahl, who transferred to her home-state Cornhuskers after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 World Series with Oklahoma.
Although No. 1 overall seed Texas A&M was knocked out in regional play, the SEC has five teams in the field — Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Ole Miss.
Florida beat Georgia in three games to advance. The Gators won national titles in 2014 and 2015 and lost to Oklahoma in the semifinals last year.
Texas has reached the best-of-three championship series in two of the past three seasons, with both losses coming to Oklahoma. The Longhorns are also in their first season in the SEC.
Texas Tech and Ole Miss are first-time qualifiers.
Texas Tech beat host Florida State in a super regional. Pitcher NiJaree Canady, last year’s USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, led Stanford to the national semifinals two straight years before transferring to Tech. She led the Red Raiders to their first Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles.
Ole Miss is the only unseeded team remaining. The Rebels beat Arizona twice to win the Tucson Regional and beat Arkansas in super regionals.
UCLA and Oregon will meet in a matchup of former Pac-12 teams that moved to the Big Ten this year.
Oregon, the Big Ten regular-season champion, defeated upstart Liberty to advance. Liberty stunned Texas A&M in regional play, but couldn’t get past the Ducks.
UCLA was down to its last out against South Carolina in Game 2 before winning, then took Game 3. The Bruins could add to their record 12 World Series titles.
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