ESPN's latest take on the College Football Playoff rankings will have Tennessee Vols fans livid.

Heather Dinich, a senior writer for ESPN, laid out seven potential scenarios that could play out this weekend.

None of those scenarios mentioned Tennessee. And that's probably how it should be. The Vols would need complete chaos to happen to have a shot at the playoff. And even then it would be a longshot for Tennessee to have a realistic chance to be included in the top four.

The part that will make Tennessee fans angry is that Dinich includes Alabama as a "contender" in six of the seven scenarios she laid out.

We talk about "Bama Bias" a lot and whether or not it's a real thing or something dreamed up by fans of programs that, well, aren't Alabama.

I think this take from Dinich helps confirm that it's somewhat real.

If Alabama is listed as a contender, then Tennessee has to be listed, too.

The Vols and the Crimson Tide are both 10-2 and Tennessee owns a head-to-head win over Alabama.

UT's best wins are against No. 6 Alabama and a road win over No. 11 LSU (latest AP Top 25 rankings).

Alabama's best wins are against No. 21 Texas (on the road) and No. 25 Mississippi State.

The big strike against the Vols is their 25-point loss on the road against No. 20 South Carolina (that's a bad loss, but it doesn't look quite as bad after the Gamecocks won on the road against Clemson).

There's no doubt the loss to South Carolina is a stain on the Vols' resumé, but I think their resumé still stands up against Alabama's.

In fact, based on the College Football Playoff's criteria listed on their website, Tennessee's resumé is better than Alabama's.

From CollegeFootballPlayoff.com:

When circumstances at the margins indicate that teams are comparable, then the following criteria must be considered:

• Championships won
• Strength of schedule
• Head‐to‐head competition (if it occurred)
• Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory)

Let's break down each of those four points:

• Neither team is playing in the SEC Championship game.
• Tennessee's strength of schedule (per Sports Reference) is No. 25 while Alabama's is No. 29.
• The Vols beat the Crimson Tide 52-49 earlier this season.
• Tennessee and Alabama share two common opponents — Vanderbilt and LSU. Both teams destroyed Vandy, while Bama lost to LSU and the Vols beat the Tigers by 27 (both games involving LSU took place in Baton Rouge).

Based on the playoff committee's protocol, it's a no-brainer that Tennessee should be ranked above Alabama.

The only argument that is even somewhat valid is that UT lost starting quarterback Hendon Hooker for the season and they're now relying on Joe Milton.

But even that argument doesn't hold up that well when you consider that Milton led the Vols to a 56-0 road win against a Vanderbilt team that folks like Kirk Herbstreit predicted to beat the Vols (Alabama beat Vanderbilt 55-3 at home with Bryce Young starting).

If we're being honest, neither Alabama nor Tennessee should be in this conversation. Both had their chances to lock down a spot and both blew it.

But based on the criteria laid out by the playoff, if things get so wild this weekend that several of the top teams fall out of the playoff, it should be the Vols that are considered for the final spot and not the Crimson Tide.

Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports