Vols Finish Third Best Season of Millennium

Image: knoxnews.com

By Jonathan Reed

The Tennessee Volunteers finished the 2024 season ranked No. 9 in the Final AP Top 25 Poll.

1. Ohio State

2. Notre Dame

3. Oregon

4. Texas

5. Penn State

6. Georgia

7. Arizona State

8. Boise State

9. Tennessee

10. Indiana

Too high? Too low? Just right?

I’m not golden, nor do I have beautiful locks of hair, but I’m fine with the ranking. Do I think Tennessee was actually better than at least two of the teams ahead of them? Yes. Does it matter? No, not really. The tiers of accolades do not ask if you were top 8 or top 7; the only acknowledgement comes from if you win the title, finish top 5, or finish in the top 10. The Vols get to tout a top 10 season.

It's only the third top 10 finish Tennessee has gotten to celebrate this millennium, and second since 2001.

Josh Heupel and his program were exposed a bit by Ohio State in the College Football Playoffs, but so was every other team that faced them after Michigan. The Vols were the only ones unfortunate enough to have to face the Buckeyes on their home field, too.

+1 for the Battered Vol people. That is a little bad luck.

It’s crazy that the vibes during the offseason have been so low. I understand that the season-ending loss to Ohio State was demoralizing, but, now that they’ve finished their march to the national championship, does it become easier to swallow?

Either way. This final AP ranking solidifies that, at the very least, this is a top 3 season of the 2000s. Congrats to Josh and the boys.