scored its biggest win of the season on Saturday, recovering from another scoreless first half to surge after halftime and make all the key plays in winning time to beat Alabama 24-17 at a buzzing Neyland Stadium. The Vols head into their second open date with a 6-1 record and in the thick of the races for the SEC title and the 12-team College Football Playoff. After taking down the Crimson Tide, Tennessee climbed four spots to No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 and rose two spots to No. 8 in the US LBM Coaches Poll – both new rankings were released on Sunday afternoon.
Joining Alabama as ranked teams that lost were No. 1 Texas (at home to No. 5 Georgia) and No. 24 Michigan (at No. 22 Illinois), though some teams (BYU, Iowa State and Missouri) escaped with narrow home wins.
Oregon is the No. 1 team in the country after the Texas loss, while Alabama dropped from No. 7 to No. 15 in both polls…