Tennessee avoided disaster Saturday against Florida.

The Vols, shutout in the first half for the second-straight week, came back to take the lead in the fourth quarter, then held off the Gators in overtime to win, 23-17 at Neyland Stadium.

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The win was enough to keep Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) in the College Football Playoff picture at the halfway point of its season, but it resulted in a drop in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll Sunday, three spots to No. 11.

It is the second consecutive week that the Vols have fallen in the rankings. Tennessee dropped out of the top 5 following a 19-14 loss at Arkansas last week.

Though the initial playoff rankings won’t be released until next month, the Vols’ current standing in the AP poll would have them just making the newly expanded 12-team playoff, but with a slim margin for error going forward.

Elsewhere in the SEC, Texas maintained its No. 1 ranking after thumping Oklahoma, 34-3 in their annual Red River Rivalry clash in Dallas on Saturday.

Georgia (5) and Alabama (7) stayed put after wins over Mississippi State and South Carolina, respectively and LSU leapt five spots to No. 9 in the wake of an overtime win against Ole Miss.

The Vols can further bolster their resume and climb back inside the top 10 when they host Alabama next Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The Crimson Tide opened as a 2-point road favorite on Sunday.

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