Tennessee climbs to No. 11 in ESPN's updated SP+ rankings after Week 8

Tennessee moved up two spots to No. 11 in ESPN's latest SP+ Top 25, updated by Bill Connelly after the Week 8 slate. The Volunteers, now 6-2, carry a 17.9 rating, placing them just outside the top 10 as the season enters its final third and the picture around them continues to shift.

Ohio State remained at No. 1 with a 28.6 rating, followed by Georgia at No. 2, Notre Dame at No. 3, LSU at No. 4 and Miami at No. 5. LSU rose two places after a dominant win over Auburn, while Miami slipped two spots despite beating Pitt 52-23 at home. Indiana, Texas, Texas Tech and Utah rounded out the top 10, with Utah holding steady after a narrow 21-13 win over Houston.

There was movement elsewhere in the SEC as well. Alabama made one of the week's biggest jumps, climbing five spots to No. 7 after beating Texas A&M 31-20 at home. Texas stayed at No. 8 following a 34-27 win over Ole Miss, and the Rebels fell two places to No. 16. Missouri rose three spots to No. 18.

Further down the list, Northwestern gained six places to No. 20, SMU moved up four to No. 21, and Wake Forest dropped five to No. 25. Several teams on bye weeks, including Georgia, did not move at all, while others shifted based on results around them even without playing their best football.

For Tennessee, the rise to No. 11 reflects a team still positioned in the upper tier of the national picture with five games left for many contenders. With Ohio State facing a difficult closing stretch and several teams clustered tightly in the ratings behind the top five, the coming weeks are likely to reorder this list again.