{
  "id": 9737676,
  "title": "Can Vols beat top-ranked Texas? Here's Tennessee football record vs AP No. 1 teams",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/can-vols-beat-top-ranked-texas-heres-tennessee-football-record-vs-ap",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-25T09:03:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/vols-beat-top-ranked-texas-090342934.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Tennessee football has faced No. 1 teams for over four decades, with limited success. Their last win against an AP No. 1-ranked team came on September 28, 1985, when they defeated Auburn with a score of 38-20. They have a chance to break their drought when they host Texas, the No. 1 team in the AP rankings, at Neyland Stadium on September 26. The matchup would be the first between the two programs since the 1969 Cotton Bowl. Tennessee has a 2-17 record in their previous 19 games against top-ranked opponents, with 11 of those games occurring since 2011. Notably, they lost to Florida in 1997, when the Gators were ranked No. 1 in both the Coaches and AP polls, and they beat Alabama in 2022, when Alabama was ranked No. 1 in the Coaches Poll and No. 3 by the AP. Tennessee's coach, Josh Heupel, has a record of 0-3 against top-ranked teams in the AP poll but 1-3 when including victories over Alabama. The only other upset by Tennessee over a No. 1-ranked team in the AP poll was against LSU in 1959. Tennessee's all-time record against No. 1 teams includes a victory over LSU on November 7, 1959, with a score of 14-13; losses to Alabama on October 20, 1979, and October 18, 1980; a narrow defeat to Notre Dame on September 28, 1985; a loss to Florida on September 17, 1994; another loss to Florida on September 20, 1997; a loss to Florida at home on September 17, 1994; a loss to Florida on September 20, 1997; a loss to Miami on September 19, 2009; a loss to Florida on October 24, 2009; a loss to Alabama on October 15, 2011; a loss to Alabama on October 20, 2012; a loss to Alabama on September 26, 2013; a loss to Alabama on October 15, 2016; a loss to Alabama on October 21, 2017; a loss to Alabama on October 20, 2018; a loss to Alabama on October 19, 2019; a loss to Georgia on November 13, 2021; a win over Georgia on October 15, 2022; and a loss to Georgia on November 18, 2023.",
  "summary": "When Tennessee football plays Texas, it will be the 20th time the Vols have faced an opponent ranked No. 1 in the AP poll.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Tennessee football vs Texas, Trump visit, 'GameDay' Pat McAfee, live updates Friday",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/tennessee-football-vs-texas-trump-visit-gameday-pat-mcafee-live",
        "published": "2026-09-25T11:46:14.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}