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Tennessee barely beat out fellow SEC team Mississippi State for the 25th and final spot in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll released last week.
It’s the first time since 2008 the Vols have been in that poll, when the Vols were a preseason No. 18. So it’s a big deal for coach Butch Jones and the program.
It’s also the first time since 2012 that Tennessee has been ranked in any poll. The Volunteers last appeared at No. 23 in the Associated Press Poll on Sept. 12, 2012.
Despite the milestone, Jones and the Vols would rather remain in the poll after the season. Let’s take a look at how teams that began the year at No. 25 in the Coaches Poll fared in the last five years.
West Virginia, 2010: The Mountaineers were coming off a 2009 season in which they finished 9-4, including a Gator Bowl loss to Florida State. That was notable because it was FSU coach Bobby Bowden’s final game. In 2010, WVU’s starting quarterback was an inexperienced Geno Smith. The Mountaineers, still in the Big East, started 3-0 but lost 20-14 at No. 15 LSU. They finished 9-3 in the regular season and 5-2 in the conference. That earned West Virginia a spot in the Champs Sports Bowl, but WVU lost 23-7 to North Carolina State and its quarterback, one Russell Wilson. It would be the final game as Mountaineers head coach for Bill Stewart.
Penn State, 2011: The Nittany Lions were coming off a 7-6 season in 2010, losing to Florida in the Outback Bowl, 37-24. That’s notable because it was the final bowl game for Hall of Famer Joe Paterno. He was still the team’s coach in 2011, but I think we all remember what scandal rocked the school and the sports world that season. PSU is just now digging out of it. The Nittany Lions were 8-1 and ranked No. 12 following an Oct. 29 win over Illinois. That victory allowed Paterno to break Eddie Robinson’s NCAA record of 409 wins (until the NCAA took some away). That would be Paterno’s last game as he was relieved of his duties in the wake of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky’s arrest. Penn State lost three of its final four games, including 30-14 to Houston in the TicketCity Bowl, under interim coach Tom Bradley. That was Penn State’s last bowl game until the 2014 season because of Sandusky NCAA sanctions.
Auburn, 2012: The Tigers were 8-5 the season before under coach Gene Chizik, beating Virginia 43-24 in the Chick-fil-A-Bowl. But the ’12 season would be an utter disaster and Chizik’s final year there. Auburn finished a shocking 3-9 overall and went winless in the SEC, capped by a 49-0 embarrassment at Alabama in the Iron Bowl. It was the most lopsided result in that series in 64 years. Auburn completed the worst season for any team within two years of winning an Associated Press national title. Chizik would be fired and replaced by his former offensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn, which has worked out pretty well.
Oregon State, 2013: The Beavers were 9-4 under coach Mike Riley in 2013, losing to Texas 31-27 in the Alamo Bowl. Quarterback Sean Mannion returned in 2013, becoming the program’s all-time leading passer once his career ended. However, FCS team Eastern Washington shocked Oregon State in its 2013 season opener, 49-46. The Beavers won their next six, all against unranked teams, before closing the regular season with five straight losses. They did get an invitation to the Hawaii Bowl and beat Boise State, 38-23, to finish with a winning record. It would be Riley’s last winning season in Corvallis; he left for Nebraska after last season.
Washington, 2014: The Huskies were 9-4 in 2013 and won the Fight Hunger Bowl, 31-16, over BYU. But the school lost coach Steve Sarkisian to USC. Many thought Washington upgraded by hiring Boise State head coach Chris Petersen to replace him. But for the fourth time in five years, the underachieving program lost six games. Petersen’s team was 0-5 against ranked teams and lost 30-22 to Oklahoma State in the Cactus Bowl to finish at 8-6.
CONCLUSION
In the last five years, none of the teams ranked at No. 25 preseason won double-digit games. So the Volunteers are fighting that precedent if the team wants to win an SEC East title this season.
- 2014 Washington Huskies: 8-6
- 2013 Oregon State Beavers: 7-6
- 2012 Auburn Tigers: 3-9
- 2011 Penn State Nittany Lions: 9-4
- 2010 West Virginia Mountaineers: 9-4
Still, four of the five teams finished with winning records. Auburn was the lone exception, but Tennessee’s days of fretting about a possible 3-9 finish are over.
Games are played out on the field, not in the preseason polls. But recent history suggests last year’s 7-6 record is the basement for this team. An improvement of one or two regular-season wins is realistic based solely on recent teams ranked at No. 25 preseason.
Matt Severance is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina.
