ESPN’s Rece Davis made an honest confession about where he ranked Tennessee on his AP Top 25 ballot after Vols’ win over Auburn
ESPN’s Rece Davis has the Tennessee Volunteers ranked fairly high in the new AP Top 25 poll.
The Tennessee Vols moved up two spots in the new AP Top 25 poll — from No. 17 to No. 15 — after their 24-14 win over the Auburn Tigers.
ESPN’s Rece Davis has the Vols ranked even higher than that on his ballot this week (he has Tennessee at No. 12).
Davis, however, doesn’t think Tennessee should be ranked as high as he has them ranked.
No, seriously. That’s what he said.
“Tennessee’s done a really good job,” said Davis on Sunday on the College GameDay Podcast. “I have Tennessee ranked much higher than they should be.”
I’m not sure what Davis is getting at as he didn’t explain why he has the Vols at No. 12, or why he thinks they shouldn’t be that high.
And for what it’s worth, I don’t think Davis is throwing any shade at Tennessee with his comments, nor do I think he’s wrong for thinking the Vols shouldn’t be ranked that high (I’m not saying he’s right, either — I think we still have a lot to learn about Tennessee).
It’s just interesting that he turned in a ballot with some choices that he clearly doesn’t believe in that strongly. Which, again, I don’t blame him. I don’t think there’s any “right” order these teams should be ranked in. There are a bunch of arguments you can make that make sense for why various teams should be ranked ahead of each other.
Ultimately, it’s just another example of how outdated the AP Top 25 poll has become. I know it’s something that’s used to generate excitement for matchups each weekend, but it’s deeply flawed, it serves no other purpose, and there’s no real way to fix it.
By the way, former Tennessee football beat writer Mike Griffith, who now covers Georgia football, has the Vols ranked at No. 9 on his ballot, which is higher than anyone else has UT ranked.
