Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel runs onto the field during the Aflac Kickoff Game between the Volunteers and Syracuse held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., on August 30, 2025. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee Falls In Latest ESPN FPI Rankings After 45-26 Win Over Syracuse

Originally posted on Tennessee Volunteers on SI
By Najeh Wilkins | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 11:35 AM ET

Tennessee picked up a dominating win over the Syracuse Orange on Saturday, and the offense was hitting on all cylinders for the Vols. Tennessee put up 45 points and nearly 500 yards of total offense. It was the most well-balanced attack you will find from yesterday. The Vols threw for 247 yards and ran for 246 yards. The dynamic duo of Star Thomas and DeSean Bishop was on full display as they did a great job of complementing each other. Thomas rushed for 92 yards and a receiving touchdown. Bishop rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown and added 44 receiving yards. Both running backs averaged over seven yards per carry.

Despite the win, the Vols fell in the latest ESPN FPI rankings. Now the fall isn’t drastic, but they did fall a spot in the rankings. A team that catapulted past them was the USC Trojans, who moved up eight spots after their 73-13 win over Missouri State. It is interesting because the quality of the opponent both teams just played, and the Vols beat a 10-win team from a year ago.

There were a few changes compared to earlier in the week, according to the analytics model, after the victory for the Vols. Tennessee improved its chances to make the playoffs from 42.4% to 49.9% compared to earlier in the week. Their chances to win the SEC conference also saw a nice climb to 8.6%. ESPN FPI also gave the Vols some love on making the national championship game with a 9.5% chance after their victory on Saturday.

Now it is early for the Vols, but they did a good job of answering critics with their performance against Syracuse. They will have East Tennessee State and then a huge matchup against Georgia on September 13th to see where they stand in the conference. Tennessee showed they have an opportunistic defence and an offense that can capitalize on big plays down the field and finally hit some of those deep shots that fans have been desperately clamoring for. With Aguilar at the helm, the Vols should be just fine this season and be able to reach some of their goals.