Tennessee football is having a very strong 2026 season, one that has them right in the middle of the race for the SEC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff as the calendar flips to November. Josh Heupel's group has put together some impressive performances and will clearly be a tough out for anyone down the stretch this season.

On Tuesday night, however, the College Football Playoff selection committee made it clear that the Volunteers still have some work to do if they're going to achieve their dreams this season. Tennessee came in surprisingly low in the initial College Football Playoff rankings reveal, slotting in at No. 13 heading into Week 10.

Of course, if the CFP started tomorrow, that would mean Tennessee is on the outside looking in. Many fans and pundits were puzzled by that ranking and thought that the Volt deserved to be much higher. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic stated as much on The Audible.

“The people who I think have the biggest right to be ticked off are Volunteer fans,” Feldman said. “They are way down. They beat Alabama, granted it was in Knoxville, but that wasn't close. They beat them by 16 points.”

Tennessee got that big win over the Crimson Tide in Week 7, as the Vols defense dismantled the Crimson Tide in a 26-10 win. Naturally, it came as a massive surprise when Alabama slotted in at No. 5 on Tuesday night despite having the same record as Tennessee and a head-to-head loss.

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Of course, Tennessee is coming off of a loss to South Carolina in Week 8 before their Week 9 bye, so it's only natural that its ranking took a hit. But the Gamecocks are now securely in the top 25 as well, so it doesn't go down as a bad loss.

The Volunteers' remaining schedule is both a blessing and a curse. It presents the opportunity for them to rise in the rankings, but also a chance for them to pick up more losses that could be fatal to their national title hopes. That gauntlet starts on Saturday when No. 6 Kentucky comes to Knoxville.