Marquez North of Tennessee makes a catch while under pressure from Arkansas State's Andrew Tryon.KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee is back in the national polls.
The Volunteers were ranked 25th in the preseason Amway/USA Today Coaches' Poll released late Thursday morning.
Tennessee hasn't been ranked since it lasted one week at No. 23 in the Associated Press poll two weeks into the 2012 season. After entering the rankings following a 2-0 start, the Vols lost at home Florida. Tennessee went on to finish 5-7 that season.
The last time the Vols were ranked in a preseason poll was 2008, when both the AP and coaches put them at No. 18. Tennessee lost its season opener at UCLA in overtime and struggled to a 5-7 finish. That was Tennessee's last appearance in the coaches poll, which is voted on by 64 FBS head coaches.
The Vols will play five teams ranked in the top 25: Alabama (No. 3), Georgia (9), Oklahoma (19), Arkansas (20) and Missouri (23).
There are eight Southeastern Conference teams in the poll, and five more were in the "receiving votes" category. Mississippi State and Texas A&M were the first two teams outside of the top 25. Vanderbilt was the only SEC team not to get a single vote.
Defending national champion Ohio State is ranked No. 1, followed by TCU, Alabama, Baylor and Oregon.
Tennessee, which starts preseason practice next week, opens the season September 5 in Nashville against Bowling Green.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.