Tennessee coach Josh Heupel sounded on Monday like someone who couldn’t care less about the first College Football Playoff rankings that were released Tuesday night.”Playoff rankings at this point do not matter,” he said. “You do not have control over it. What you have control over is your preparation and how you play. Ultimately, that determines where you are at or where you are not at.”Where the Volunteers wound up at in the first poll was seventh, putting them firmly in position to make the 12-team field as long as they keep winning. They aim to do that Saturday night in Knoxville, hosting Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State for Homecoming.Tennessee (7-1, 4-1) trails SEC co-leaders Georgia and Texas A&M by a half-game but has a game in hand on both teams. It finishes conference play at Georgia and Vanderbilt, giving it a chance to either make a powerful closing statement or play itself out of the CFP.The Volunteers are coming off a 28-18 home win last week against Kentucky as Dylan Sampson ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, setting the program’s single-season school record for rushing scores with 19. It stood 95 years, originally set by Gene McIver in 1929 with 18.Sampson, a junior, needs just 20 yards to reach 1,000 for the year and 19 to get to 2,000 for his career. He’s become the focal point of the Tennessee offense after quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s slump following a hot start.Iamaleava has thrown for 1,705 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions this year. Sampson and the team’s defense, which has allowed only 12.4 points per game — fifth in FBS — have taken up slack for Iamaleava.For Heupel, the month of November comes down to one thing.”We have to continue to grow and get better,” he said.
No. 7 Tennessee not overlooking Mississippi State
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