Okay, so our chance of being ranked at
any point this season (including post-bowl) is pretty much zero.
Here's why:
- Teams with five losses generally don't make the polls. Looking back over the years, each final AP poll includes either one single -5 loss team...or none at all. In the past decade, there has never been a final AP poll that included two -5 loss teams.
- Most of those rare -5 loss teams who did make it into the final poll first played in their conference championship match. Which means, they got 14 total games (12 regular season, 1 title game, 1 bowl game). And 9-5 with a championship game appearance looks a lot more respectable to the poll voters than 8-5.
- The only two teams to make it into the final AP poll of the last ten years with an 8-5 record were Auburn in '16, and Michigan in '12. But both those teams were ranked in the top 10 earlier in the season, so already had the attention of the poll voters as "one of the teams to watch."
The Vols will have none of those advantages. If we win out in the regular season, we'll go into the bowls with a 7-5 record, just one game over even. We won't get the benefit of a championship contest to get attention. And with a 7-5 record, we'll likely play a bowl against some other team that is also 7-5 (or maybe 8-4), which means they also will not be ranked. So no huge kudos for beating them.
No, the polls are not our friends this year. Have to save that for 2020 and beyond.
Nevertheless...Go Vols!