Tennessee

Why Tennessee football playoff rankings don’t matter to Josh Heupel but should to you

Published

1 year ago

November 4, 2024

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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Tennessee

Tennessee attorney general files lawsuit against Roblox

Published

8 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee attorney general files lawsuit against Roblox

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Chronic wasting disease in Tennessee whitetail deer continues creeping eastward

Published

20 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Chronic wasting disease in Tennessee whitetail deer continues creeping eastward

WAYNE COUNTY, Tenn. — Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in whitetail deer continues creeping in an eastward direction in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has received the first-ever positive chronic wasting disease (CWD) test result in a road-killed deer found in Wayne County. Since Wayne County is already within the current CWD Management Zone, wildlife feeding and carcass transportation restrictions are already in place.

This means CWD has now been confirmed in 20 of Tennessee’s 95 counties. This is the third county where CWD has been confirmed East of Kentucky Lake, what some people hope might provide at least a partial impediment to CWD’s eastward expansion. The first CWD case confirmed in Tennessee came in 2018. Of course several cases have also been more recently identified in the northwest corner of Alabama.

In Wayne County, there are no changes to the deer hunting season dates and regulations. However, hunters are now eligible for the Earn-a-Buck Program. Hunters can earn additional bucks by harvesting antlerless deer in Wayne County and submitting them for testing. Hunters who have already submitted antlerless deer for testing this fall will be provided an earned buck. For more details on the CWD Management Zone and Incentive Programs, visit CWDinTN.org.

As a reminder, Wayne County is subject to the following wildlife feeding and carcass transportation restrictions:

Deer carcasses can move within and between counties in the CWD Management Zone.
Hunters may not move whole or field-dressed deer carcasses or unapproved parts outside of the CWD Management Zone. Only approved parts may be moved out of the CWD Management Zone.
Once a carcass is brought into the CWD Management Zone, it cannot be moved out of the zone.
Approved parts are free to be transported anywhere statewide. Approved parts are listed below:
Deboned meat
Antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates, cleaned skulls (where no meat or tissues are attached to the skull)
Cleaned teeth
Finished taxidermy and antler products
Hides and tanned products
Within the CWD Management Zone, the placement of grain, salt products, minerals, and other consumable natural and manufactured products is prohibited.
Feeding restrictions do not apply if the feed or minerals are:
Placed within one hundred (100) feet of any residence or occupied building; or
Placed in such a manner to reasonably exclude access by deer; or
Placed as part of a wild hog management effort authorized by the agency; or present from normal agricultural practices, normal forest management practices, or crop and wildlife food production practices.

Hunter’s participation in CWD testing is critical for the continued surveillance and monitoring of CWD throughout the state.

Hunters can access CWD testing through participating taxidermists and meat processors or by using drop-off freezers.

The Wayne County drop-off freezer is available at: Beech Creek Fire Hall, 5775 Beech Creek Road, Waynesboro, TN 38485.

CWD is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system of cervids, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose.

The agency partners with certified laboratories to test samples, and TWRA has already submitted approximately 8,400 samples for testing this hunting season.

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Tennessee

Titans QB Cam Ward Talks Past, Present and Future

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Titans QB Cam Ward Talks Past, Present and Future

NASHVILLE – Cam Ward discussed the past, present and the future on Wednesday.

During his regularly scheduled session with reporters, the Titans quarterback also discussed what it’s been like handling the pressure of being the number one pick and the face of the franchise.

“I just wake up and go about my business, honestly,” Ward said. “I don’t really see no pressure. I mean, I get to do something every day that I like to do. I’m going to always remember the hard times that I went through my rookie year. I’ll remember the good plays that I made in my rookie year. I’ll remember how many reporters came to report on the team one year. And I’ll remember in the next couple of years when there’s a lot more reporters out here trying to get footage on us.

“You’ve just got to continue to take your day by day process. We continue to feed into each other as the locker room, continue to give emphasis on the coaching staff, what we’re looking for ahead. And we’re ready to turn it back around.”

In 14 starts this season, Ward has thrown for 2,638 yards with 11 touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

He needs just 181 pass yards to break Marcus Mariota’s Tennessee record with 2,818 passing yards (in 2015).

Ward has shown improvement in recent weeks – he has back-to-back games with two touchdown passes (zero such games in his first 12 starts) and this past Sunday was his first career game without taking a sack (3.8 sacks per game in Weeks 1-14).

Ward discussed some of the highs and lows of his rookie season.

Ward said he feels like he hasn’t had his signature game yet while saying “I don’t think I’ll ever have a signature game in my career, honestly.”

“Every game there’s going to be some bad tape,” he said. “Whether it’s one play, two plays, from myself or another teammate. So I don’t really try to chase having a perfect game. I try to just chase having a good play every play. Because at the end of the day, I’m going to have a bad play. I’m going to throw another interception. I’m going to fumble the ball again at some point in my career. So the more I can continue to stress myself, limit the little bad plays and just continue to build on what I already know, what I’m good at, and then just continue to put the ball in space to my playmakers, I think that will serve me better in the long term.”

The Titans face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and after that the team has games left vs the Saints and Jaguars.

Ward knows there will be changes on the horizon, including the team naming a new head coach for 2026.

Ward on Wednesday was asked if he wants to meet the head coaching candidates during the process.

He said he’s actually talked to Mike Borgonzi and Chad Brinker about the process.

“I want to meet all of them,” Ward said. “Every coach who’s going to get the opportunity to come here, I want to meet them, have conversations throughout the whole process with them because that’s someone that I’m going to be here with for that time. So, we got to just continue to — me being around and being open to it no matter whoever we try to hire because I know at the end of the day who we do hire is going to be the right fit for us. Whether it’s a defensive person or an offensive person, they’re going to make sure that every person is in the right place, and make sure every person is set up for success.

“Yeah, I have had a conversation with them about wanting to be involved. They know how much I want to be involved. And then especially just not even with the scheme part of it just as the head coach who he is on a everyday basis. And then, we’ll get into the scheme what I know I’m good at, what I want do, what he thinks will also help me.”

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