Rankings Watch: How Far Tennessee Falls After the South Carolina Loss

Tennessee's loss to South Carolina has left the Volunteers waiting on the next set of rankings to learn how far they will fall. The Vols entered the game ranked No. 11, and a defeat at the hands of an unranked opponent is exactly the kind of result that tends to cost a team ground when the polls are updated.

The question now is one of degree. A drop is expected after losing to a team outside the rankings, but the size of that drop will shape how the rest of Tennessee's season is viewed and how much work the Vols have left to climb back toward where they stood before Saturday.

Until the new rankings arrive, Tennessee can only sit with the result. The Vols' standing took a hit in Columbia, and the polls will soon put a number on how large that hit turned out to be.