Tennessee Volunteers fans have every right to be livid right now.
The College Football Playoff selection committee sent a loud message to the Tennessee Vols on Tuesday during the first CFP rankings reveal show.
The message?
Brand bias is alive and well.
Tennessee, which is 6-2 with losses to Texas and South Carolina, is ranked No. 13 in the initial CFP rankings.
Alabama, which lost 26-10 to Tennessee in a game the Vols dominated, is ranked No. 5 in the initial rankings despite also being 6-2.
These rankings are one of the most corrupt things I've seen in college football. I mean, they aren't even trying to hide it. It's so bad that even former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy is perplexed by it.
I could understand if Alabama was ranked one spot above Tennessee since the Crimson Tide have the "better" losses (Georgia and Tennessee).
But eight spots?
Tennessee has wins against Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas and Georgia Tech with losses to Texas (ranked No. 7) and South Carolina (ranked No. 21).
Alabama has wins against Kentucky, Florida State, South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M with losses to Georgia (ranked No. 2) and Tennessee (ranked No. 13).
Again, I can understand giving Alabama the nod over Tennessee. I'm not saying I agree, but I get it. The argument can go either way.
But the Vols, per the committee, have a better win than Alabama (that's only true because they ranked the Crimson Tide way higher than they should be). The resumes are very similar. There is just no justification for ranking Alabama eight spots ahead of Tennessee when the two programs have similar wins/losses and one team (Alabama) was dominated by the other team (Tennessee).
This is nothing more than Alabama getting the benefit of the doubt because their name is Alabama. There is no other reason.
Sorry, Tennessee. You're going to have to win out and hope Alabama loses two more games to jump the Crimson Tide. I'm pretty sure the committee would rank a three-loss Alabama team ahead of the Vols at this point.
The committee is basically telling Tennessee that they're always going to have an uphill battle to climb the rankings simply because their name isn't Alabama.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: The College Football Playoff selection committee just sent a loud message to Tennessee and it's what Vols fans have known for a long time
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