Bronx Bat Flip

My feed is full of dumb media takes on how Tennessee should be in front of Alabama after Saturday. Here’s why it’s just clickbait fan service: #7 Texas has a H2H over Tennessee. #21 SC (who Bama blew out) has a H2H over Tennessee in a triangle of wins. So you can’t just isolate Bama-Tennessee. There are several H2H wins at play because teams have multiple losses. Tennessee can’t jump Bama without jumping Texas, who beat them. Bama blowing out LSU on the road is a big deal - they’re a top-5 power rating team. Kentucky is not a top-15 power rating team, ranking aside. View resume off the quality of who you play, not their ranking. See my reply for proof this isn’t a new line of thinking from me / why it matters. Mississippi State is being considered a top-15 team for Bama by the CFPC. They’ve since lost about a third of their starters, including a Heisman contender QB, and are a shell of their former selves. But probably not fair to discredit Bama’s win in view of that. Alabama (FPI 3) is considerably higher rated than Tennessee (FPI 11) in terms of overall team quality.* They aren’t in comparable quality tiers. Alabama lost to Tennessee on the road, with 5 starters out injured, the week after a brutal Georgia game. As “quality losses” go, Bama’s to Georgia and Tennessee are probably the country’s most forgivable. Alabama has played 8 top-50 quality teams, tied with Oregon for the most among ranked teams. Tennessee has played 6. Bama has the #1 SOS in FEI. Bama’s 4 FEI top-30 wins (LSU, SC, UK, and TAMU) is the most nationally. And that doesn’t include MS State. *I usually prefer to use media-neutral FEI, but it isn’t updated as of this writing. FEI mentions are based on last week’s power rankings.