The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season, released Tuesday night, placed Alabama at No. 5 nationally while Tennessee sits at No. 13 — even though the Volunteers beat the Crimson Tide by 16 points two weeks ago.
Both teams enter the week with two losses, but the head-to-head result has become the focal point of criticism aimed at the selection committee’s decision-making.
Radio host Craig Carton raised the issue Wednesday on his program, The Craig Carton Show, questioning how Alabama could be ranked eight spots above a team that beat it outright.
“Question, question, question. Question on the floor. How is Alabama ranked fifth when Tennessee is ranked 13th? Inquiring minds want to know. They played each other two weeks ago. Tennessee beat them by 16 points,” Carton said.
Carton acknowledged that Tennessee has issues of its own and isn’t necessarily a top-five-caliber team this season.
“Now, I’m not saying Tennessee should be a top-five program right now. They shouldn’t be,” he said. “But how does Alabama, with two losses, get ranked eight spots ahead of Tennessee when they just lost to Tennessee head-to-head?”
For Carton, the dispute comes down to what should matter most when records are similar: results on the field rather than other metrics.
“Isn’t head-to-head, shouldn’t head-to-head, unless you’re a porn star, of course, shouldn’t head-to-head be the number one deciding factor when figuring out which team should be over another team?” he said. “Then you can, of course, get into strength of schedule, the opponents, and all the other nonsense. They played against each other. I watched the game. Tennessee dominated Alabama.”
Carton argued that the committee has a pattern of protecting Alabama’s standing even after losses.
“And yet, here we are, like we always are, currying favor with the Crimson Tide,” he said.
He closed by predicting the ranking won’t hold up over the course of the season.
“I’m not saying that Tennessee got screwed, but I’m saying that Alabama’s screwing everybody else,” Carton said. “And Alabama is not winning a national title this year, and they should not. Sorry, Crimson Tide fans. Roll Tide. You should not be No. 5 in these first official rankings when it comes to football.”
Tennessee’s loss to Alabama earlier this season came during a stretch in which Alabama suffered back-to-back regular-season losses for the first time in nearly two decades, according to prior reporting on the program.
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