Where Tennessee football ranks in AP Top 25 to start 2026 season

Tennessee football will start the 2026 season ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25, which was released on Aug. 17.

It's slightly less optimistic than the US LBM Coaches Poll, which put the Vols at No. 18. Both preseason polls predict a better finish than last season, when Tennessee finished unranked for the first time since 2021.

The AP Top 25 acknowledged Tennessee's challenging schedule. Four of its opponents are ranked: No. 5 Texas, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 11 LSU and No. 13 Alabama. And four more UT opponents also received votes: South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech and Auburn.

Tennessee plays Furman on Sept. 5 (3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+/ESPN+) to start the season.

Here's the AP Top 25 to start the 2026 season.

College football rankings to start 2026 season

AP Top 25

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame
5. Texas
6. Indiana
7. Miami
8. Texas A&M
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech
13. Alabama
14. BYU
15. USC
16. Michigan
17. Washington
18. Penn State
19. SMU
20. Tennessee
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Houston
24. Louisville
25. Missouri

Others receiving votes: Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1.

US LBM Coaches Poll

1. Ohio State (12-2)
2. Oregon (13-2)
3. Georgia (12-2)
4. Texas (10-3)
5. Notre Dame (10-2)
6. Indiana (16-0)
7. Miami (13-3)
8. Texas A&M (11-2)
9. Oklahoma (10-3)
10. Ole Miss (13-2)
11. Alabama (11-4)
12. Texas Tech (12-2)
13. LSU (7-6)
14. Southern Cal (9-4)
15. BYU (12-2)
16. Michigan (9-4)
17. Penn State (7-6)
18. Tennessee (8-5)
19. Washington (9-4)
20. SMU (9-4)
21. Utah (11-2)
22. Iowa (9-4)
23. Clemson (7-6)
24. Houston (10-3)
25. Missouri (8-5)

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Where Tennessee football ranks in AP Top 25 to start 2026 season