The reason the Tennessee Vols are tied with Ohio State in the AP Top 25 poll is maddening
The Tennessee Vols will enter their huge showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend in Athens as the No. 2 ranked team in the nation. Tennessee is tied with Ohio State at No. 2 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. This is the highest the Vols have been ranked since 2001 when Tennessee was […]
The Tennessee Vols will enter their huge showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend in Athens as the No. 2 ranked team in the nation.
Tennessee is tied with Ohio State at No. 2 in the latest AP Top 25 poll.
This is the highest the Vols have been ranked since 2001 when Tennessee was ranked No. 2 entering their SEC Championship game matchup with LSU (the Tigers won that game 31-20).
Ultimately, the Vols' ranking at No. 2 this week, or the fact they're tied with Ohio State, doesn't really mean much.
The game between Georgia and Tennessee will decide who the No. 1 team in the nation is. And that team will instantly become the overwhelming favorite to win the national championship later this season.
Still, there's a reason why the Vols are tied with the Buckeyes at No. 2. And it will (and should) infuriate Tennessee fans.
Remember that AP Top 25 voter a few weeks ago that voted Tennessee at No. 6 after they beat Alabama (and he had Bama at No. 3 after that loss)?
Well, he's back again and causing problems.
Mike Berardino, a Notre Dame beat writer for the South Bend Tribune, clearly has an agenda with his vote.
Because this week, Berardino voted Tennessee at No. 5 and he has Alabama at No. 3.
There are plenty of arguments about where Tennessee should be ranked in the top three.
Nearly everyone, however, agrees that the Vols are a top-three team.
And if Berardino would've put Tennessee at No. 3, the Vols would be in sole possession of the No. 2 ranking.
In his defense, he explained his process at length during a weekly chat with readers. It basically comes down to the fact that Berardino believes Alabama is the better team and would win on a neutral field. Obviously, that's subjective and I don't care to argue that point (there's no way to declare a winner in that debate unless they play on a neutral field).
Berardino also used the transitive property to suggest that Tennessee's win over Pittsburgh doesn't look good because the Panthers lost to Georgia Tech (though using that logic, doesn't Tennessee's win over LSU look much better now that the Tigers are playing better?).
Essentially, his voting process comes down to who he believes is the better team, not who has the better resumé.
(By the way, in Berardino's explanation, he fails to mention that Tennessee was without a couple of key players against Alabama, including wide receiver Cedric Tillman and safety Jaylen McCollough.)
And the only reason he believes Alabama is the better team has to be because of the Crimson Tide's past history. Because if you look at what Alabama has done this season — narrow wins over currently unranked teams (Texas and Texas A&M) — there's no way you can say Alabama has proven more this season than Tennessee.
It's got so bad with Berardino that even Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman threw some shade at him last week over not having Tennessee ranked higher.
I don't know Berardino and I've never met him so I don't want to suggest he has an anti-Tennessee bias (and I really don't think that's the case). What I think is that he's trying to get too cute and "original" with his vote and it's led to this silly ranking. I also think he's, to some extent, letting an Alabama superiority bias creep into his thought process.
The Vols should be the only No. 2 team in the nation. But they're not and it's because one writer decided to make a point (though I'm not fully sure what his point is) with his vote.
That's not the purpose of the AP Top 25 poll. And if that's how Berardino is going to use his vote, then maybe he shouldn't have one.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
