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Christopher Boan writes for BetTennessee.com and has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, with experience at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
How Do #15 Preseason AP Poll Teams Play? Tennessee’s Potential Trends
For the fourth time in program history, the Tennessee Volunteers will start the football season ranked 15th nationally. Coach Josh Heupel’s team earned that spot in this year’s Associated Press preseason top 25 poll, which was released on Aug. 12, and the trend for the Vols for Tennessee sports betting is looking up.
The Vols were No. 15 in the initial AP poll in 1969, 1972 and 2007, finishing no higher than eighth at year’s end. But there’s reason that 2024 could be a new day for Tennessee football.
With that in mind, BetTennessee.com broke down where the last three teams ranked 15th in the preseason poll wound up.
Trends of #15 Team In College Football Preseason Poll since 2021
Situation | Result |
Average Record | 7-6* |
Average Winning Percentage | .536* |
Bowl Game Appearance | 1 of 3 |
Final AP Poll Top 25 Appearance | 1 of 3 |
*Rounded to nearest whole number
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How Teams Have Done When No. 15 in initial AP poll (combined record 21-17)
- 2023, Oregon: 12-2, sixth, won Fiesta Bowl
- 2022, Michigan State: 5-7, unranked, no bowl
- 2021, USC: 4-8, unranked, UR, no bowl
How Recent Teams in UT’s Shoes Fared
Of the past three teams that started the season 15th in the AP poll, only Oregon last season finished with a winning record. Coach Dan Lanning’s squad went 12-2 and won the Fiesta Bowl over Liberty, 45-6. Follow Tennessee Vols bowl projections all season to see if UT can match those heights in 2024.
Before the Ducks, Michigan State in 2022 and USC in 2021 faceplanted out of the 15th spot. The Spartans went 5-7 two years ago and the ’21 Trojans were even worse at 4-8, with both missing the sport’s bowl season entirely after starting with a lot of promise.
In total, the past three teams to slot in at 15 in the preseason poll have posted a year-end win percentage of .536, buoyed of course by Oregon’s 12-2 record a year ago.
This year, Vols fans and those backing the team with Tennessee college football odds hope UT will look to avoid such a fate. The Vols can start by handling business in the non-conference slate of the season with games against FCS in-state foe Chattanooga, North Carolina State and Kent State out of the gate.
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What Oddsmakers Expect From UT in 2024
Right now, UT enters the season with a preseason win total over/under of 8.5 at the FanDuel Tennessee Sportsbook. That operator gives +170 for Vols odds of making the College Football Playoff for the first time this fall as the field expands to 12 teams.
Throw in Tennessee’s +1500 SEC championship odds (good for sixth overall) and you have a decent synopsis of where oddsmakers see the Vols’ going on the gridirons of the SEC this fall.
Hopefully for UT fans’ sake, the Vols’ will fare better than two of the last three teams that entered the CFB season ranked 15th nationally. Heupel and company hope instead to fly in the direction of the 2023 Ducks.
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USA Today Network photo by Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel
