After their biggest win of the 2026 campaign against a previously top-10-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide squad, the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers have catapulted themselves into the SEC and College Football Playoff races.
The Vols’ 26-10 dismantling of the Tide officially put them on everybody’s radar heading into the back half of the regular season, including the folks over at ESPN, who moved Josh Heupel’s team up 7 spots to No. 12 in their latest college football power rankings.
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ESPN analyst Alex Scarborough broke down what makes Tennessee so formidable, and why they are legit CFP contenders:
After a weekend when the SEC’s three highest-rated teams lost, who’s to say that Tennessee isn’t a playoff contender after beating Alabama by two touchdowns? The offense isn’t particularly fancy, but who needs that when you have DeSean Bishop averaging 172.3 rushing yards the past three games, and you have Jim Knowles’ defense getting after the quarterback and refusing to allow big plays? There’s a recipe for success there, especially if George MacIntyre can be efficient at quarterback the way he was against Alabama, completing 21 of 31 passes for 197 yards. The back half of the schedule, in SEC terms, is manageable with South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas A&M, LSU and Vanderbilt remaining. – Alex Scarborough
The Vols still have a couple of major tests on the horizon against Kentucky and LSU, but both of those games are at home. Outside of that, though, their remaining slate is extremely manageable.
If they can continue playing at the same level they did against the Tide, then it’s very possible that we end up seeing Tennessee make a run at their first national championship in almost 30 years come playoff time.
Prediction Markets Tennessee at South Carolina Learn more about Prediction Markets Kalshi South Carolina 55% Tennessee 46% PredictTennessee makes huge jump up ESPN’s updated power rankings after Alabama win Saturday Down South.
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