Final 2025 SEC power rankings: 9 - Tennessee
The Volunteers had one of the more chaotic off-seasons in the conference, losing their presumptive starter Nico Iamaleava to the transfer portal at the conclusion of spring ball, so the fact that they rebounded as well as they did to get to 8-4 is remarkable. Losing the OU game is something that every Big Orange fan will feel was a missed opportunity, but it’s hard to be too dissatisfied with the way things shook out, all things considered.
This is especially so when you consider the fact that the starting corner tandem for the Volunteers in Rickey Gibson and Jermod McCoy never saw the field. McCoy missed the entire year with an injury, and Gibson tore his pectoral muscle in game one, putting him on the bench for the remainder of the season.
At the same time, the Vols had maybe the easiest schedule in the entire conference this season, so 8-4 doesn’t look all that impressive. That balances things out somewhat given what was working against Heupel’s squad.
Overall, it was an okay year for the Vols. For a rebuilding year, it was excellent— but against the measuring stick of the rest of the SEC, it was just okay.