Where the Tennessee Vols land in ESPN’s post Week 1 college football power rankings
The Tennessee Vols are 1-0 after taking down the Syracuse Orange in Week 1 of the 2025 college football season. Tennessee cruised to a 45-26 win in the first game of the Joey Aguilar era. ESPN updated its college football power rankings following the action in Week 1, and the Vols came in at No. […]
The Tennessee Vols are 1-0 after taking down the Syracuse Orange in Week 1 of the 2025 college football season.
Tennessee cruised to a 45-26 win in the first game of the Joey Aguilar era.
ESPN updated its college football power rankings following the action in Week 1, and the Vols came in at No. 18.
From ESPN: Joey Aguilar fared well in his debut as the new Volunteers QB1, putting up 281 total yards and three touchdowns to guide a 45-26 win over Syracuse in Atlanta. The veteran passer got plenty of help from an excellent run game that pounded the Orange for 246 yards on 6.2 yards per carry, including a team-high 92 yards from Duke transfer Star Thomas. The Vols’ defense had a tough time getting off the field at times, surrendering three fourth-down conversions and three long touchdown drives, but still delivered big plays with five sacks, two takeaways and a Colton Hood scoop-and-score. They’ll get one more tune-up against ETSU next week before Georgia comes to Knoxville on Sept. 13.
The defense certainly had a difficult time getting off the field at times, but it’s not often that teams convert three of four fourth-down attempts (Syracuse was five-for-14 on third-down conversions).
Tennessee, however, has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the defense over the last few seasons. There are some depth concerns moving forward due to some injuries sustained in the Syracuse game (starting cornerback Rickey Gibson is expected to be out for an “extended period of time”), but the Vols should be just fine defensively.
Tennessee Volunteers News
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