Tennessee Receives MAJOR Ranking Drop After Oklahoma Loss

Tennessee is barely ranked after their third loss.

Tennessee place kicker Max Gilbert (90) walks towards the locker man after a NCAA football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Oklahoma Sooners at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on November 1, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers lost their third game of the season on Saturday, as they were defeated in their home stadium against the Oklahoma Sooners. This was a big blow to the Vols playoff hopes, as no three loss program has made the college football playoff ever, and even if they were the Vols case doesn't seem to be strong enough, as they lack a ranked win at this time.

The Tennessee Volunteers still have some things to improve upon, and they are in the middle of their bye week, which is something that the team really needs, so they can shift their focus on their final three regular-season games. The Vols will be in their home stadium for two of these contests, but they have the chance to be considered the underdog in one of the games, as the in-state Vanderbilt Commodores will be on their way to Knoxville sooner than later.

The Vols have still made a case to be ranked, and they will remain ranked at trhis time, as the very first edition of the college football playoff rankings has released. The Vols have received their new ranking on Tuesday, as they are now ranked as the No. 25 team in the nation.

This comes as no shock following the Vols loss against the Oklahoma Sooners, which was extremely disappointing for many, including Josh Heupel. This is something that Heupel discussed in his post game press conference, as the Vols will now have to shift their focus. Here is what he had to say.

"Obviously, uh, extremely disappointing with the outcome and so, as you know, everybody in the programs extremely disappointed. First, our fans were awesome tonight as always, but I want to thank them. You know, first half, I thought defensively (we) played extremely well. Um, offensively (we) moved the football, don't get points in the redzone, turn the ball over, give them, I don't know, 16-points in the first half, and just can't win that way. They're (Oklahoma) a good football team and then at the end, just didn't have enough to get over the hump. So, give credit to them and we got to play smarter to win a game like that," Heupel said.

The Vols will now focus on their game against New Mexico State. Following that they will be tasked with their final road game of the season. This game being against the Florida Gators.

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