Where Tennessee football ranks in first College Football Playoff poll: See full list

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Tennessee football debuted at No. 25 in the first College Football Playoff poll of the 2025 season, released on Nov. 4.

The Vols have to think about what could've been if they hadn't lost 33-27 to Oklahoma on Nov. 1 in a playoff elimination game of sorts. Instead, UT is barely ranked. Oklahoma is No. 12 in the CFP poll.

The CFP selection committee ranked the Top 25 teams for the 12-team playoff format. The rankings will be updated each Tuesday for the next month, and the final CFP field will be announced on Dec. 7.

There are five guaranteed spots (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC champions, plus highest-ranked non P4 conference champion). And then seven teams get at-large bids, based on their ranking in the CFP poll.

Tennessee (6-3, 3-3 SEC) is off this week before hosting New Mexico State (3-5) on Nov. 15 (4:15 p.m., SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium. Then the Vols play at Florida (Nov. 22) and at home against Vanderbilt (Nov. 29).

Tennessee is ranked No. 22 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 23 in the AP Top 25, which were released on Nov. 2.

College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings

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

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: Tennessee football: Where Vols rank in first College Football Playoff poll

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