KNOXVILLE — After its first bye week of the season, Tennessee continued its climb in the polls, rising to No. 4 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and US LBM AFCA Coaches poll.
The Vols (4-0, 1-0 SEC) jumped two spots in the Coaches poll and one place in the AP Top 25. The No. 4 ranking is Tennessee’s highest since being tabbed No. 2/3 on Oct. 30, 2022. UT is still slated to face two of the other four teams in the current top five, including No. 1/2 Alabama in Knoxville on Oct. 19 and No. 5/5 Georgia on Nov. 16 in Athens. The Vols own a victory over current No. 19/17 Oklahoma, who rallied to beat Auburn on the road.
Tennessee has been ranked for 36 consecutive weeks in the Coaches poll, which dates back to Sept. 11, 2022. That streak is the Vols’ longest in that poll since being ranked 92 straight weeks from Nov. 27, 1994, to Oct. 1, 2000.
Tennessee’s SEC road tilt on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Arkansas has been announced as a 7:30 p.m. (ET) kickoff on ABC. It’s the Vols’ third ABC primetime contest of the year. Their SEC opening victory at Oklahoma drew 6.3 million viewers on the network.