Tennessee Not Being #1 In The Polls Makes ZERO Sense

Wade Payne. Shutterstock Images.

The AP and Coaches polls have come out this week, and again these polls continue to infuriate me. First off the basis of these polls rely on moving teams up and down week to week off a list that starts … ready for this… BEFORE ANY GAMES ARE EVER PLAYED. 

Here were some ranked teams in the preseason polls. 

5- Notre Dame 

6- Texas A&M

9- Oklahoma

10- Baylor 

15- Michigan St 

16- Miami 

18- Wisconsin 

24- Houston 

Now, I'm not crucifying these polls for ranking teams and it turning out they aren't good. Not everyone can predict the future, if everyone could predict the future I wouldn't have spent so much time building relationships with coaches of the future, or player of the year candidates for a podcast that was just going to get cancelled anyway. Maybe if some other people could predict the future, they would have loaded up on Rogaine at the first sight of shedding. Not everyone is perfect. 

What I will hold these polls accountable for is it seems like teams still get credit for a "good win" over someone for a long time when that team in fact is not good. 

Look no further than Ohio St. They held on for a close win vs Notre Dame Week 1. Notre Dame is a bad football team. Is Ohio St maybe the most talented team in the country ? Yes. Should Ohio St be ranked fairly high ? Yes. Is Ohio St getting a benefit of being this high because they were ranked high to begin the year ? Yes. 

Both can be true. 

On the flip side, teams like UCLA currently 6-0 and ranked 9 get shafted to an extent because of these "experts" not having them ranked in the preseason. So now we're 8 weeks into the season, UCLA looks great but they are only #9. Are they the 9th best team in the country ? Maybe that's accurate. Or the question I want to ask is do they have the 5th or 6th best resume and they have only reached 9 because of these stupid polls. Maybe. 

That's more my question here …. don't tell me who's ranked in your skewed polls. Tell me this : 

WHO HAS THE BEST RESUME ? 

Now the eye test factors into that. You have to watch the games to understand that yes Texas is 5-2 but they are a damn good football team.Don't just go off wins and losses. 

So that brings us back to Tennessee.  The Vols are 3 in the AP Poll and 4 in the Coaches poll. 

Who's got a more impressive win than Tennessee and who's got a better resume ? 

Let's examine

- Georgia beat the shit out of an above average Oregon team. Smashed them … the rest of the schedule ? Leaves a lot to be desired. 

Samford, S.Carolina, Kent St, Missouri, Auburn, and Vanderbilt 

- Ohio St ? 

Notre Dame win really what they want to hang their hat on ? A team who lost to Stanford and Marshall ? C'mon. 

- Michigan beat a respectable Maryland team and pulverized State Penn who didn't play anyone all year. The Wolverines non conference schedule looks like a list of teams on a clearance rack of sweatshirts at Steve and Barry's. UCONN,Hawaii, and Colorado St. 

-Clemson is one of the strongest resumes of the top 5. Wake Forest NC ST and Florida St are all respectable wins. 

Then you have The Tennessee Volunteers. Pitt,Florida,LSU and Alabama is the strongest resume we've listed. It also includes the best win in the country. To me, The Vols should be #1. I am not alone, as in each poll Tennessee did receive #1 votes this week. 

There are I'm sure some people out there reading this asking, "How can you move down Georgia and Ohio St if they didn't lose to anyone and are also undefeated?" I get that those teams didn't do anything wrong, or necessarily deserve to move down, but it's a flawed argument. Those teams are 1 and 2 , again … based off a lot of the preseason rankings. Why can't the Top 25 be adjusted in season to reward who's got the best resume in season ? I will never understand the stubbornness of the polls. I don't get how you can't think Tennessee's resume is right there as best in the country. I don't get how you can't think that wasn't the best win across the country this season. 

To me … Tennessee is the #1 team in the country despite what these polls continue to say. 

Great point here …