11/1/2022 football Edit

Tennessee in at No. 1 in first College Football Playoff ranking of season

The College Football Playoff National Championship trophy on display at Neyland Stadium during the Tennessee-Kentucky game last Saturday. (Knoxville News-Sentinel)

Noah Taylor • VolReport

Managing Editor

Noah is a graduate of the UT College of Journalism & Electronic Media and has covered Tennessee football since 2019. He joined Rivals in 2022.

For the first time in the College Football Playoff era, the Tennessee Volunteers are ranked in the top-four.

The unbeaten Vols (8-0, 4-0 SEC) made their first appearance in the ranking since 2016 on Tuesday, coming in at No. 1 in a vote by the College Football Playoff committee. It is the first time since 1998 that Tennessee has been ranked No. 1 in any poll during the regular season.

Ohio State (2), Georgia (3) and Clemson (4) rounded out the rest of the top-four.

“I don't know that we placed a timeframe (on when Tennessee would be a playoff contender)," Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said in an interview with ESPN. "I think that's one of the things we had our players buy-in to what we're doing. We never set a ceiling. Obviously, our habits have helped us play consistently here in the early part of the season. There's a long ways to go. I love competing with this team every Saturday."

With a FBS-best five wins over ranked teams, the Vols' resume was the most impressive among the top selections. Tennessee ranks No. 1 in strength of record and 19th in strength of schedule.

"The case was made or Ohio State to be No. 1, for Georgia and Tennessee and all had good arguments," College Football Playoff Chairman Boo Corrigan said on a teleconference Tuesday night. "Tennessee was picked because of their impressive road win against LSU and their win over Alabama."

Aside from Tennessee's potent offense, which ranks first in college football in yards and points per game, Corrigan said the Vols' defensive performances against LSU and Kentucky last week also played a factor in the committee's decision.

Tennessee plays Georgia (8-0, 4-0 SEC) at Sanford Stadium in Athens at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday (CBS), pitting No. 1 and No. 3 against each other in a game that will have major postseason implications.

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