Tennessee football: Alabama has no business being ahead of Vols in polls

Yes, the rankings have a recency bias. However, head to head should matter when it comes to teams with the same record, so it’s ridiculous that Tennessee football is behind the Alabama Crimson Tide in both polls to end the regular season.

Both teams finished with a 10-2 record, and the Vols beat Alabama 52-49 this year. However, UT came in at No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll while Alabama is No. 6 in both polls. The Penn State Nittany Lions are ahead of the Vols in the Coaches Poll.

There’s no way around it. This is an absolute travesty. You may be able to sell margin of victory since Alabama’s two losses are each on the road by one score and Tennessee football lost one game by two touchdowns and another by 25 points.

However, those losses are also both on the road. One is to the Georgia Bulldogs, unanimously considered the No. 1 team in the nation, and the other is to the South Carolina Gamecocks, who just upset the Clemson Tigers on the road, finished 8-4 and are No. 20 in both polls.

In fact, both of those teams, Georgia and South Carolina, are ranked higher than any team Alabama beat. Meanwhile, one of Alabama’s losses is at the LSU Tigers. The Vols beat that same LSU team by 27 in their place, so they have the head to head and the common opponents edge.

The other common opponent for both teams is the Vanderbilt Commodores. Alabama won 55-3 at home. Tennessee football won 56-0 on the road. So let’s break this down. UT and Alabama have the same record, UT beat Alabama, the Vols are 2-0 against common opponents while Alabama is 1-1, and in the win they share, the Vols looked better.

What about overall schedule strength and quality wins? Well, Alabama alone is one for the Vols, but even after losing to the Texas A&M Aggies, LSU is No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 13 in the Coaches Poll. Again, that LSU team managed to beat Alabama.

So what is Alabama’s best win? It’s by one point at a Texas Longhorns team that is 8-4, lost its quarterback when facing the Tide and is ranked No. 21. Their other top 25 win is over the 8-4 Mississippi State Bulldogs, who are No. 25 in both polls.

Outside of those two teams, the Ole Miss Rebels, who are 8-4, are the only other team with a winning record Alabama has beaten this year. What about Tennessee football? Well, we mentioned Alabama and LSU. The Pittsburgh Panthers have also finished 8-4, though.

Simply put, the Vols’ three best wins are better than Alabama’s three best wins. Then you have all the other factors in play, and by every metric, UT has a higher ranked strength of schedule than the Tide. Only a recency bias and media love keep Alabama above the Vols.

For what it’s worth, it’s ridiculous for Tennessee football to be behind Penn State. To be fair, Penn State has better losses overall, but they have no quality wins on the year. It’s not as clear-cut as Alabama, to be fair, but the Vols are the best two-loss team in the nation.