College Football Playoff committee chair Hunter Yurachek explained Tuesday night why Alabama is No. 5 and Tennessee is No. 13 after the Vols beat the Tide 26-10 on Oct. 17. His answer, per the Knoxville News Sentinel: “You have to be in the same pod to be compared head to head.”
So that’s the rule now. Beat a team by 16 on your own field, and you still need a hall pass to be compared to them.
To be fair to the committee, here’s its case. Yurachek said Alabama’s schedule (No. 7 in strength of schedule, to Tennessee’s No. 25) and its quality wins outweigh the head-to-head. Alabama is 2-2 against the CFP Top 25, with wins over Kentucky and South Carolina. Tennessee is 1-2: the Alabama win, plus losses to Texas and South Carolina. The committee also still counts Alabama’s win over Mississippi State as a quality win because it came while the Bulldogs were at full strength.
Fine. Now do the same homework on Saturday’s opponent, No. 6 Kentucky. The Vols and the Wildcats share two opponents:
- Alabama: Tennessee won 26-10. Kentucky lost 45-17.
- South Carolina: Tennessee lost 27-24. Kentucky won 35-34.
Both teams went 1-1. Add it up, and the Vols are plus-13 against those two. Kentucky is minus-27. On the season, Tennessee is plus-128 (258-130) and gives up 16.3 points a game. Kentucky is plus-65 (263-198), with two of its wins by one point.
I read the committee’s protocol. Head-to-head is in there. Results against common opponents are in there. “Pods” is not.
Here’s the good news: none of this matters if Tennessee handles its business. Kentucky comes to Neyland on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. Central on ESPN. Win that one, and the Vols beat a top-six team on the field, which is the one argument no pod can hold. I made the case on video:
And no, The Correct Top 10 doesn’t use pods. It uses wins.
Same pod or not? Tell me on X @fiveandafade or on Instagram.
Every pick is free. Get them by email: subscribe here.
Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.
