Where Tennessee football ranks in USA Today's too-early Top 25

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Tennessee football's 2026 expectations are rising in at least one preseason measurement.

The Vols are ranked No. 20 in USA TODAY's too-early Top 25 rankings following spring practice. That's four spots better than they were ranked in January after the transfer portal closed.

The implementation of new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' scheme is a factor in believing UT could have a solid season against a difficult season, especially with plenty of additions from the transfer portal. On offense, the return of Mike Matthews and SEC Freshman of the Year Braylon Staley at wide receiver is a positive.

"(The defense) looks to be the strength of the team that just needs some help from the offense to be in position to be a sneaky playoff contender," the USA TODAY ranking explanation said.

Half of the 16 teams in the SEC made the USA TODAY's too-early ranking: No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Georgia, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 12 Alabama, No. 17 LSU and No. 20 Tennessee.

The AP Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll will be released in August. But if this Top 25 media ranking holds up, the Vols have four ranked teams on their schedule from a preseason perspective.

Tennessee plays Texas (Sept. 26), Alabama (Oct. 17), at Texas A&M (Nov. 14) and LSU (Nov. 21). The Vols open the 2026 season against Furman on Sept. 5 at Neyland Stadium.

Here is the USA TODAY too-early ranking. Check out a team-by-team explanation here.

USA TODAY too-early Top 25

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

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 ranking in too-early Top 25 poll for 2026 season

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