ESPN FPI Puts Tennessee at No. 12 After Week 8 Results

ESPN has updated its Football Power Index rankings after the Week 8 slate, and Tennessee checks in at No. 12. The Volunteers are 6-2 under head coach Josh Heupel, and unlike the traditional polls that were set to follow on Sunday afternoon, the FPI is driven by computer numbers designed to measure the strength of each team.

Ohio State leads the updated FPI at No. 1 with a 6-1 record, followed by Notre Dame at No. 2 and unbeaten Miami at No. 3. Georgia is No. 4 and Alabama is No. 5, giving the SEC two teams in the top five. Indiana, LSU, Texas, Ole Miss and unbeaten Utah round out the top 10, with Oregon at No. 11 just ahead of Tennessee.

The rest of the top 25 includes Nebraska, Texas Tech, BYU, Wake Forest, Florida, Houston and Oklahoma. Northwestern is No. 20, followed by Louisville, Texas A&M, Arizona, Kentucky and USC. Kentucky's place at No. 24 is relevant to Tennessee, because the Wildcats are 7-1 and are the Volunteers' next opponent.

For Tennessee, the immediate schedule offers a chance to reset. The Volunteers now enter a bye week before returning to action at home against Kentucky. That matchup, against another ranked team in the FPI top 25, will be an important test of where Tennessee stands heading into the final stretch of the regular season.