Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee is No. 17 of 138 in the model after week 6 (5-1, 2-1 in conference play). Its projected final record is 8.1-3.9, with a 2% chance to win out and a 17% chance to make the playoff. The AP poll has Tennessee at No. 14.

Updated · See Tennessee in the full rankings

2026 at a glance

  • #17in the model (▼5 from last week)
  • 8.1-3.9projected final record
  • +12.0points vs. an average FBS team, neutral field
  • 17%chance to make the playoff

Scouting report: Tennessee's best unit is its rush offense (No. 9 in FBS); its weakest is its pass offense (No. 120). Overall, the offense ranks No. 63 and the defense No. 25, adjusted for opponents. These ranks rest on 6 games, so expect them to move week to week.

Résumé: No. 24, by wins above what a typical top-25 team would expect against Tennessee's schedule. That measures what the record is worth; the power rank (No. 17) measures how good the team is.

Deserved wins: playing the way it has, Tennessee would usually have won 5 games; it has won 5.

Postseason odds: 1% to win the SEC, 17% to make the 12-team playoff, 1% to earn a first-round bye and 1% to win the national title. 99% to reach 6 wins. (Model estimates; how the playoff odds work.)

Rank by week: Wk 1: 22 → Wk 2: 13 → Wk 3: 10 → Wk 4: 13 → Wk 5: 12 → Wk 6: 17
Week 1: No. 22Week 2: No. 13Week 3: No. 10Week 4: No. 13Week 5: No. 12Week 6: No. 17

Rankings for weeks 1-6 were rebuilt after launch from games through each week; later weeks are published live.

Season stats

  • 34.7points per game
  • 15.5points allowed per game
  • 43%offensive success rate
  • 38%success rate allowed

Success rate: share of plays that keep an offense on schedule (half the yards needed on first down, 70% on second, all of it on third or fourth). Garbage time excluded.

Leaders

  • Passing: Faizon Brandon, 697 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT
  • Rushing: DeSean Bishop, 678 yards on 107 carries, 8 TD
  • Receiving: Mike Matthews, 22 catches, 396 yards, 3 TD

Schedule and win odds

WeekOpponentResult or win chancePlayed like
1vs FurmanW 56-999% win
2at Georgia TechW 45-2499% win
3vs Kennesaw StateW 42-999% win
4vs No. 7 TexasL 17-2021% win
5vs AuburnW 24-1498% win
6at ArkansasW 24-1788% win
7vs No. 1 Alabama23% to win
8at South Carolina54% to win
10vs Kentucky64% to win
11at Texas A&M53% to win
12vs No. 8 LSU45% to win
13at Vanderbilt78% to win

Win chances come from the model's current ratings, including home field. Played like: how often a team wins a game it played the way it played this one, based on the box score. Rankings shown are the model's.

SEC in the model

#TeamRecordConf.Projected
1Alabama5-13-110.2-1.8
3Georgia6-04-010.9-1.1
7Texas4-11-18.7-3.3
8LSU4-21-27.8-4.2
12Missouri5-12-18.5-3.5
18Ole Miss4-12-17.8-4.2
19Mississippi State4-12-18.1-3.9
26Oklahoma3-21-16.4-5.6
27Kentucky5-13-18.1-3.9
31Texas A&M3-31-35.7-6.3
33South Carolina3-31-35.9-6.1
37Florida4-22-26.6-5.4
42Auburn3-21-25.8-6.2
82Vanderbilt3-30-34.4-7.6
88Arkansas2-40-33.3-8.7

This week's picks and rankings

Every week's top 25, game of the week and picks are in the weekly breakdown. Latest: Week 7 college football picks and power rankings: the model's case for LSU.

How the model works: each team starts from a preseason rating (last season, returning production, roster talent), and every game moves it using the final margin and play-by-play efficiency, adjusted for opponents. Projections simulate the rest of the season 10,000 times. More on the method. Data from CollegeFootballData.com.