ESPN analyst Greg McElroy puts Tennessee eighth in his new top 15 after an upset-filled week

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy released his latest top 15 college football teams this week on his Always College Football podcast, reshuffling his rankings after a weekend marked by major upsets across the sport. His list diverges from the AP Top 25 in several places, starting at the very top, where he placed BYU first following the Cougars' upset win over Notre Dame, a game that came down to the final play.

Miami sits second after surviving Florida State in double overtime in their rivalry meeting, while Ohio State is third after winning a defensive struggle against Indiana and snapping the Hoosiers' 22-game winning streak, a victory that came at a cost with quarterback Julian Sayin injured and set to miss extended time. Indiana remains fourth despite the loss, followed by Georgia at fifth and Ole Miss at sixth after the Rebels' 31-3 win over Missouri. Kentucky, ranked 12th by the AP, rises to seventh in McElroy's list as a reflection of the job first-year coach Will Stein has done.

Tennessee comes in eighth. McElroy's ranking notes that the Volunteers' lone loss this season was a three-point defeat to a Texas team that was ranked first at the time, and that Tennessee has since won three straight, most recently in dominant fashion over a strong Alabama squad. The Volunteers were praised for a nasty defensive performance that kept Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell in check, while running back DeSean Bishop continued to serve as a workhorse in the backfield.

UCLA is ninth after a 17-7 win over Wisconsin kept the Bruins unbeaten, and Notre Dame rounds out the top 10 after its close loss at BYU narrowed the Irish's margin for error. The remainder of the 15, in order, are Utah, Texas, Alabama, Wake Forest and Texas Tech. For Tennessee, a top-eight spot in McElroy's view reinforces that the Alabama win has kept the Volunteers firmly in the national picture despite that early narrow loss.