Tennessee is rated one of the top 10 teams in the nation by both polls that carry any weight. That’s not good enough.
By any logical arguments, the Vols are one of the top five teams in the country and there really isn’t any debate. Tennessee should be listed alongside Georgia, Ohio State, Southern California and Texas, in no particular order. Just look at the resumes.
Tennessee, which is rated No. 7 by the AP Poll and laughably No. 9 in the Coaches’ Poll, has been spectacular in two games this season, which included a neutral site thumping of North Carolina State on Saturday 51-10. Few teams have accomplished more.
For the sake of argument, let’s stick with the AP Poll moving forward since the Coaches’ Poll is fraught with conflicts of interest and likely not even voted on by coaches.
No. 11 Southern California has an impressive 27-20 win on its resume when it beat LSU to begin the season. Then, the Trojans beat Utah State 48-0 at home. USC should be in the top five based on resume.
No. 4 Alabama has beaten Western Kentucky and South Florida by a combined score of 105-16. Neither team should have challenged the Crimson Tide and they didn’t. Tennessee should be rated ahead of Bama given the Vols win over a top 25 team, the Wolfpack, which was rated No. 24 when the Vols played them on Saturday.
No. 3 Ohio State hasn’t beaten anyone of significance. The Buckeyes have topped Akron and Western Michigan by a combined score of 108-6. Wow. That would be impressive if either of those teams were good at football.
No. 2 Texas probably has the most impressive duo of wins to start the season. The Longhorns beat Colorado State 52-0 in their opener and beat Michigan in The Big House 31-12 on Saturday. That’s a big win. However, I have doubts that the Wolverines will even be a shell of their national championship selves after losing head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL, who was replaced by a coach that might not even have a contract.
No. 1 Georgia has beaten Clemson 34-3 and Tennessee Tech 48-3. The win against the Tigers would have once been considered a significant win for Bulldogs. No longer. Clemson’s program is sliding downhill faster everyday. Georgia, however, should get the benefit of the doubt as long as it is the reigning champion.
Now, those are the facts. No other team has shown it’s worthy of a top five ranking other than the Vols, Buckeyes, Tigers, Bulldogs and Longhorns. I’m not putting them in any particular order, but those are your top five, as of now, and there’s no debate.
