Think of Texas: that state has 254 counties. It’s quite possible that Tennessee and Texas could have state Senators appointed some other way. For example, Texas has 20 Councils of (local) Governments, so these councils could appoint 2 Senators apiece, giving Texas 40 Senators instead of 254. Tennessee could do something similar, if it has Councils of Governments.
I looked it up, and discovered that Texas actually has 24 regional Councils of Governments. The idea would be that all the county commissioners of the various counties in each region would get together as one body and appoint their two state Senators. That’s how I imagine it happening, anyhow. So Texas would have 48 state Senators representing the combined county governments of 24 regions.