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Why Are the Tennessee Vols Getting No Respect in the Week 13 Top 25 Rankings?

By Caleb Calhoun

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After moving to 7-4 on a difficult schedule, the Week 13 college football Top 25 rankings have shown completely unfair disrespect toward the Tennessee Vols.

After beating the Missouri Tigers 19-8 in Columbia on Saturday night, Butch Jones’s Tennessee Volunteers football team moved to 7-4 on the season and 4-3 in the conference.

Meanwhile, three of their four losses came to one-loss teams currently in the Top 10 and in the College Football Playoff race, and all of them were within one score.

The other loss was to an Arkansas Razorbacks team that caught fire at just that time and has since beaten Ole Miss, LSU, and should have beaten Mississippi State.

In three of those four losses, the Vols led by 13 or more points but blew it in the end.

All of this should hint to Tennessee being by far the best 7-4 team in the country and having a better resume than teams with possibly even better records.

But the pollsters have decided to completely ignore them. The Vols only got two votes in this week’s AP Poll, and they got no votes in this week’s Coaches’ Poll.

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In fact the Coaches poll voters determined that five Group of Five teams with three losses were more worthy of votes than the four-loss SEC Vols, one of whom lost to Tennessee in a blowout. They also decided the same was true for a four-loss Big 12 team.

And in embarrassing fashion, two of those teams also received more votes than the Vols in the AP Poll.

Here are a few teams that got more votes than them:

Bowling Green Falcons (Coaches’ Poll)

An 8-3 MAC team is better than a 7-4 SEC team? So Tennessee beats Bowling Green 59-30, they play a way tougher schedule than the Falcons, but somehow the Falcons get more votes because they are one game better in the record column???

West Virginia Mountaineers (Coaches Poll)

Both teams have four losses, but the Vols have one more win, a higher ranked strength of schedule, and a smaller margin of difference in all of their losses. So how could West Virginia get more votes?

BYU Cougars (Both Polls)

The Cougars received more votes than the Vols in both polls with an 8-3 record playing a mid-major schedule. Oh, and this comes a week after they lost to the Missouri Tigers, who Tennessee handled easily How does that make sense?

Arkansas State Red Wolves (Coaches Poll)

I’m just going to leave this here. A 7-3 Sun Belt team gets more votes than a 7-4 SEC team? Okay.

Appalachian State Mountaineers (Coaches Poll)

Once again, a Sun Belt team getting more votes? To be fair, they are at least 8-2. But it’s still ridiculous.

San Diego State Aztecs (Coaches Poll)

An 8-3 Mountain West team is no better than an 8-3 Sun Belt team. But somehow it’s a better resume than the 7-4 Tennessee Vols. Honestly, does anybody think San Diego State would be favored over Tennessee on a neutral field?

Air Force Falcons (Both Polls)

Another Mountain West team is ranked ahead of Tennessee based on record alone, and the Falcons are receiving more votes in both polls. This is beyond ridiculous at this point.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Both Polls)

To be fair, they only have two losses, but a two-loss Conference USA team does not have near the resume as a four-loss SEC team, so it’s still wrong.

Pittsburgh Panthers (Both Polls)

They are 8-3 in a Power Five conference, but it is in the worst division of the Power Five in all of college football. The Pittsburgh Panthers have no wins better than Tennessee’s wins, and their losses are equally bad.

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Here is a look at both polls to see where everybody now stands.

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Next: Vols Report Card vs. Missouri Tigers

This is completely unfair to the Vols. They are by far the best 7-4 team in college football, and it is a slap in the face to have them behind so many Group of Five mediocre teams.

We are not saying Tennessee belongs in the Top 25. But they should be receiving more votes than so many other teams.

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