Tennessee climbs to No. 8 in CFP rankings

Tennessee moved up five spots to No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night after a 34-6 victory over Kentucky. The Volunteers improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in SEC play while shutting out the Wildcats in the second half.

Tennessee has multiple double-digit wins over teams ranked in the current top 11, making it the only program with that distinction. The Vols defeated No. 3 Alabama 26-10 on Oct. 17, then scored 24 unanswered points against No. 11 Kentucky last Saturday.

Tennessee's two narrow losses came by a combined six points: 20-17 to No. 6 Texas and 27-24 at No. 17 South Carolina in the final seconds.

Georgia leads the Nov. 10 rankings at No. 1, followed by Utah and Alabama. Texas is No. 6, while other ranked SEC teams include Kentucky at No. 11, South Carolina at No. 17, Ole Miss at No. 19, LSU at No. 21 and Missouri at No. 22.

The Vols now head to Kyle Field for another SEC game, facing Texas A&M at 3 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN.

Why it matters

Tennessee is positioned at No. 8 with two wins over current top-11 teams. Its two losses came by a combined six points against ranked SEC opponents.

What to watch next

Tennessee visits Texas A&M at Kyle Field at 3 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN.