Why Alabama is far ahead of Tennessee in CFP poll despite losing to Vols

When the first College Football Playoff rankings were released on Nov. 3, it felt as if Tennessee's field-storming, cigar-smoking win over Alabama never happened.

Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC) ranked No. 13 in the CFP poll as the second team out of the projected bracket. That wasn't a surprise because it followed along with projections.

But Alabama (6-2, 4-2) ranked No. 5, and that's where a big question popped off the page because the Crimson Tide lost 26-10 to Tennessee on Oct. 17 in a dominant performance by the Vols.

So why is there such a big gap between Alabama and Tennessee? It raised the eyebrows of ESPN analysts during the broadcast of the CFP poll release.

College Football Playoff committee chair Hunter Yurachek explained. He said Alabama's stronger strength of schedule (No. 7) and number of quality wins outweighed the head-to-head loss to Tennessee (No. 25 strength of schedule).

Tennessee has a 1-2 record against CFP Top 25 teams with a win over Alabama and losses to Texas and South Carolina. Alabama has a 2-2 record against CFP Top 25 teams with wins over Kentucky and South Carolina and losses to Georgia and Tennessee.

"You've got to go a little deeper to see a quality win (for Tennessee besides the Alabama game)," Yurachek said.

CFP committee gives Alabama an extra quality win over Mississippi State

But Yurachek, who is also the Arkansas athletics director, said the committee gave Alabama credit for an additional quality win over Mississippi State. That's because the Tide won that game before Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor suffered a season-ending injury.

Yurachek said that should remain as a quality win for Alabama the remainder of the season from the committee's perspective. Mississippi State is now 4-4 with a 2-4 SEC mark.

Those factors, according to Yurachek, put Alabama in the top-tier pod and Tennessee in the second-tier pod.

"You have to be in the same pod to be compared head to head," Yurachek said.

Tennessee can win its way into College Football Playoff

It's disappointing to Tennessee fans who thought the win over Alabama would carry more weight. But there's plenty of time for teams to rise and fall in the poll, and big games this weekend should shuffle the deck.

Tennessee plays Kentucky (7-1, 5-1) at Neyland Stadium on Nov. 7 (6:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Wildcats are ranked No. 6 in the CFP poll, one spot behind Alabama.

The Vols likely need a 10-2 record to make the 12-team playoff. There’s also a chance that 9-3 could be good enough, but that possibility would require a win over Kentucky.

Alabama plays at LSU (6-2, 3-2) on Nov. 7 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The Tigers are ranked No. 14 in the CFP poll.

Those are two of the seven matchups involving two Top 25 teams this weekend.

The CFP selection committee ranked the Top 25 teams for the 12-team playoff format. The rankings will be updated each Tuesday with the final CFP field announced on Dec. 6.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Alabama is far ahead of Tennessee in CFP poll despite losing to Vols