How Tennessee Football’s Stunning Week 2 Surge Shook the AP Top 25 Rankings

Is Tennessee finally ready to break through the ceiling that’s hovered over them for years? After a gargantuan 72-17 smackdown of East Tennessee State, the Volunteers aren’t just off to a hot start—they’ve catapulted themselves seven spots up the AP poll to #15, the biggest leap of any team this week. It’s like they’ve been knocking politely for years, sometimes peeking in through the crack during those tantalizing flashes in 2022, only to have the door slam shut before playoff time. Now, with Josh Heupel’s steady hand guiding the ship—and a colossal showdown against Georgia looming—there’s a real buzz in Knoxville that 2025 might be the year it all clicks. But is this surge just momentum against easier foes, or the dawn of something special? Time to buckle up and find out. LEARN MORE.

The Tennessee football program has gotten off to a strong start to the 2025 college football season, recently picking up a mammoth 72-17 home win over East Tennessee State to push their record to 2-0. Josh Heupel and company are hoping that 2025 is the year that they will finally be able to insert themselves into the national championship mix.

The team started out relatively low in the AP poll standings but has since moved up, thanks both to their own doing as well as some poor play from some of the teams around them.

During Sunday’s new edition of the poll, Tennessee moved all the way up to number 15 in the country ahead of next week’s big matchup against Georgia, a seven spot jump from where they were last week.

In fact, the seven spot leap was the biggest of any team in the rankings this week, and signals how impressed the voters have been with the Volunteers to open up this season.

Tennessee has been knocking on the door of something special for the last few years now under Heupel, including briefly holding the number one ranking during their blistering start to the 2022 season before ultimately falling off down the stretch and missing the playoffs altogether.

Last year, Tennessee did make the playoffs due to their new expanded 12-team format, but ended up losing to the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in blowout fashion on the road.

Now, Tennessee is hoping to re-enter that discussion, and they’ve gotten off to a good start for that goal this year, albeit not against the best of competition.

The Volunteers will get a chance against a much more accomplished opponent next week when they host their bitter rivals, the Georgia Bulldogs, at 3:30 PM ET from Knoxville. That game will be carried nationally by ABC.

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