Tennessee football is ranked No. 18 in Phil Steele's preseason ranking of all 138 Division I teams. This ranking places the Vols in the middle of the pack, but it's worth noting that they have a challenging schedule ahead. Among SEC teams, Georgia is the highest-ranked at No. 2, followed by Oklahoma at No. 7 and Ole Miss at No. 8. Alabama and Texas A&M are also ranked highly at No. 11 and No. 12, respectively. South Carolina, LSU, and Florida are ranked No. 16, No. 21, and No. 23, respectively, while Auburn, Missouri, and Vanderbilt are ranked No. 29, No. 33, and No. 34, respectively. Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Kentucky are ranked No. 51, No. 55, and No. 56, respectively. Georgia Tech, who hosts Tennessee at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Week 2, is ranked No. 44.
The Vols' schedule includes a top-ranked opponent in Texas, who is ranked No. 5 by Steele. The kickoff times for the first four games of the season have been set, with Furman at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN+, Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, Kennesaw State at 7:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network, and Texas at Noon ET on ABC. The kickoff windows for the other eight SEC games have also been announced, with early, afternoon, night, and flex windows available.
Tennessee is ranked No. 16 in the first College Football Power Index (FPI) update from ESPN for the 2026 season. The model gives the Vols a 20.5% chance to make the College Football Playoff, but projects a 7-5 record. Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the FPI, followed by Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Georgia. The Vols' win-loss projection in the FPI is 7.3-4.7, and they have the 14th-toughest schedule in college football, according to the FPI's strength of schedule ranking.
In my opinion, Tennessee's ranking in Phil Steele's preseason poll is a reasonable reflection of their current strength and potential. However, the FPI ranking from ESPN provides a more comprehensive assessment of their chances in the upcoming season. The Vols' schedule is indeed challenging, with several top-ranked opponents, but their ranking in the FPI suggests that they have the talent and depth to compete at a high level. It will be interesting to see how they perform against these tough opponents and whether they can live up to the expectations set by these rankings.
