THE ATHLETIC THROWS SHADE AT TENNESSEE'S RANKING IN LATEST AP TOP 25 POLL

Despite suffering their fourth loss of the season this past weekend, the Tennessee Vols are still ranked in the latest AP Top 25 poll. 

Tennessee is ranked No. 25 in this week's poll after their 38-10 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in Knoxville this past Saturday. 

The last time the Vols weren't ranked in the AP Top 25 was in the preseason poll ahead of the 2022 season. A big win against Vanderbilt on Saturday, followed by a win in their bowl game, should guarantee that Tennessee finishes the season as a ranked team. 

Not everyone agrees that Tennessee should be ranked in the top 25. The Athletic's Chris Vannini, in fact, threw some shade at the Vols' ranking this week. 

(Vannini has Tennessee ranked No. 33 in his latest rankings.) 

"I continue to have no idea why Tennessee, No. 33 here, is ranked in the polls," wrote Vannini on Monday.

It's hard to argue against Vannini's take. Most four loss teams don't have a strong argument to be ranked. And Tennessee doesn't have any wins that jump out this season (the Vols' best wins are a home win against Texas A&M and a road win against Kentucky). But for whatever reason, the voters seem to think that Tennessee is still worthy of a top 25 ranking. 

That's a good thing for the Vols. While being ranked at No. 25 isn't something that's worthy of bragging about, it's still better for recruiting to be ranked than it is to not be ranked. If the Vols can finish the season in the top 25, whether they deserve it or not, it'll be a major positive for the perception of the program this offseason. 

Related: Tennessee Vols' biggest issue is obvious and it won't be fixed overnight

2023-11-20T19:36:34Z dg43tfdfdgfd