SEC football defenses ranked after Week 4
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No. 17 Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) will host Auburn (3-1, 1-1 SEC) on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The Week 5 contest is slated for 3:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN).
The Vols enter Week 5 with the No. 41 overall defense nationally, allowing 289.0 yards per game.
Tennessee is allowing 151.0 passing yards per contest (No. 18 nationally) and 138.0 rushing yards per game (T-No. 82 nationally).
The Vols are ranked third in the FBS for team defensive sacks (13), trailing LSU and Virginia Tech with 14.
Following Week 4, ESPN's Football Power Index released updated team defensive rankings for SEC schools.
Tennessee's overall defense is ranked sixth in the SEC and No. 13 nationally with an 82.9 defensive efficiency. Defensive efficiency is determined on a 0-100 scale, based on defense's contribution to scoring margin on a per-play basis, adjusted for strength of opposing offenses faced.
Below are SEC football team defensive rankings entering Week 5.
2026 SEC football: Ranking team defenses after Week 4
| School(national ranking) | Defensive efficiency |
| 1. LSU (2) | 96.2 |
| 2. Texas (3) | 95.6 |
| 3. Oklahoma (4) | 91.0 |
| 4. Georgia (6) | 89.1 |
| 5. Alabama (9) | 84.1 |
| 6. Tennessee (13) | 82.9 |
| 7. Texas A&M (26) | 76.9 |
| 8. Kentucky (27) | 76.8 |
| 9. Mississippi State (31) | 74.9 |
| 10. Auburn (38) | 72.5 |
| 11. Missouri (43) | 71.2 |
| 12. Florida (53) | 65.9 |
| 13. Vanderbilt (54) | 64.4 |
| 14. Arkansas (74) | 58.4 |
| 15. Ole Miss (75) | 58.3 |
| 16. South Carolina (82) | 53.9 |
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: SEC football defenses ranked after Week 4
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