The Tennessee Vols were the highest ranked three loss team in the College Football Playoff rankings last week.

That’s no longer the case after the updated rankings were revealed on Tuesday night.

Tennessee climbed two spots in this week’s rankings from No. 25 to No. 23.

Iowa, meanwhile, remained in front of the Volunteers despite the Hawkeyes suffering their third loss of the season this past weekend (Oregon beat Iowa 18-16 in Kinnick Stadium).

Does anyone outside of the state of Iowa think the Hawkeyes would beat Tennessee in a neutral site matchup? Keep in mind that the Vols beat Iowa 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl in 2023 in what was Nico Iamaleava’s first career start. This season’s teams are obviously very different, but that’s the only recent matchup between Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel.

New Mexico State head coach drops quote about Tennessee that the College Football Playoff committee needs to hear

Tennessee is a missed field goal away from being 7-2 with a win over the Georgia Bulldogs. In that scenario, the Vols are either inside of the top 12 or on the cusp of the top 12.

But because Tennessee kicker Max Gilbert missed that field goal, the Vols are No. 23 in the rankings. That’s fair, based on the results. But results, as anyone who follows competitive sports knows, never tell a team’s whole story.

As New Mexico State head coach Tony Perez mentioned earlier this week, the Vols could easily be 9-0 right now.

Perez and New Mexico State are set to play Tennessee in Knoxville this weekend.

“We watched a bunch of film on Tennessee last night and then through the morning,” said Perez. “So obviously, we got a heck of a challenge ahead of us. They have a heck of an offense. They score a lot of points. They spread the field out. They do a really good job — a really talented group on defense.

“And they’ve played some pretty tight games. I mean, they’re sitting there at 6-3, but when you look at all those games, those things all go down to the wire. This team could be 9-0 right now. Their coach does a tremendous job — he has for a number of years in building the program up.”

The Vols have no one to blame but themselves for being on the outside of the College Football Playoff picture. Self-inflicted mistakes led to their three losses.

But at the same time, most knowledgeable folks know this Tennessee team is better than the No. 23 team in the nation. The Vols have the talent to hang with anyone in the sport.

Unfortunately, though, the College Football Playoff committee and most of the national media (which just parrots each other’s talking points) treat results on Saturday as if they’re a team’s entire DNA.

And that’s just not reality. Not even close to reality, in fact. Results are just a snapshot of a team’s DNA. It’s just one chapter in a team’s journey, not the entire story. And look, I get it. Results are how you measure success. I’m not saying they don’t matter. But anyone who has coached or competed will tell you that a missed field goal that flips the result of a game doesn’t change the DNA of a team. Tennessee beat Georgia that day in every way but the scoreboard. If Gilbert makes that field goal, is Tennessee’s DNA any different? I don’t think so.

I don’t love the current setup for college football’s postseason. I don’t think a subjective committee following criteria based only on results is the most accurate to way to determine the best teams in the sport.

I’m not saying I have a good answer — though maybe we should just expand the playoff to include the entire top 25 and eliminate a month of rehearsed talking points by ESPN panelists that all have built-in biases — but I am saying that the process is deeply flawed.

College football is more like the NFL than ever before. Can you imagine trying to rank NFL teams? Or can you imagine arguing about a weak division winner getting into the NFL playoffs? Maybe it’s time to just completely do away with rankings in college football…

Tennessee Volunteers News

Lane Kiffin’s son Knox, a 2028 QB recruit, has an under-the-radar connection to the Tennessee Vols that doesn’t involve his dad

2028 quarterback recruit Knox Kiffin is the son of former Tennessee Vols and current Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin.

Zach Ragan