Where ESPN ranks Tennessee Vols after Citrus Bowl win
The Tennessee Vols wrapped up the 2023 season with an impressive 35-0 win against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl. Tennessee finished the season with a 9-4 record, which is a solid year considering how much talent the Vols lost from their 2022 squad that went 11-2. ESPN revealed their post-bowl game SP+ rankings […]
The Tennessee Vols wrapped up the 2023 season with an impressive 35-0 win against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl.
Tennessee finished the season with a 9-4 record, which is a solid year considering how much talent the Vols lost from their 2022 squad that went 11-2.
ESPN revealed their post-bowl game SP+ rankings on Tuesday and they have the Vols at No. 15.
Explanation of SP+ rankings via ESPN's Bill Connelly: What is SP+? In a single sentence, it's a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. I created the system at Football Outsiders in 2008, and as my experience with college football and its stats has grown, I have made quite a few tweaks to the system. SP+ is indeed intended to be predictive and forward-facing. It is not a résumé ranking that gives credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling — no good predictive system is. It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.
A preseason top 15 ranking for the Vols next fall feels very possible after seeing Tennessee receive a strong performance from quarterback Nico Iamaleava in the Citrus Bowl.
Though regardless of where the Vols end up being ranked next August, the expectations inside the program have already been made clear — Tennessee plans to make the playoff and make some noise next January.
