As we count down to the start of the 2026 college football season, we’ve seen the release of the Coaches’ Poll, but not the AP Poll Top 25. That will all change on Monday, August 17. The ballots will be counted, and the top-25 will come out at noon ET.
The natural next question for Tennessee football fans is where the Vols will be placed. While we won’t know for sure until the official release on Monday, it seems like UT is on track to be featured. In the Coaches’ Poll, Tennessee clocked in at No. 18 in the country. Most rankings have the Vols in the 15-25 range, as well.
We know for sure that they will be receiving at least a few votes, too. Brett McMurphy released his ballot in anticipation of the full reveal, and he slotted Tennessee at No. 22. That was the eighth-highest mark of any SEC team.
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What makes Tennessee difficult to pin is the uncertainty on both sides of the ball. Most notably, the Vols are still deciding on their starting quarterback between Faizon Brandon and George MacIntyre. On defense, it’s new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles installing his system.
This led to a critical scrimmage on Saturday morning in Neyland Stadium. The event and following film breakdowns will help give Josh Heupel and his staff more clarity on what this team will look like.
“Good work today inside the stadium,” Heupel said afterward. “Scrimmage, a lot of situational football, from special teams to different field zones, offense and defense, a lot of really good work. Some things that obviously we got to continue to clean up. Some young guys that did some really good things, but some young guys that got to continue to grow and be ready to play championship-level football here as you get ready to play this season. So a lot of positives, but we got to continue to grow here. A lot of work left here in the next three weeks to get ready to go play.”
Tennessee’s opening game is set for September 5. The Vols will host FCS Furman before playing at Georgia Tech, hosting Kennesaw State and then going through the nine-game SEC slate.
