The Tennessee Vols are 6-1 following their dominant 26-10 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Vols are in the driver’s seat for a spot in the College Football Playoff and an SEC Championship game appearance, yet they still seem to be flying under the radar nationally.

I mean, the Vols just took down an Alabama team that was crowned by the media as one of the best two or three teams in the country — even after their loss to Georgia last weekend — and Tennessee still isn’t viewed as a legit national championship contender.

In fact, the national media seems to be laughing at the idea that Tennessee can keep it going this season.

The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel, for example, essentially wrote off the Vols’ win over Alabama, suggesting that Tennessee just caught the Crimson Tide at the right time.

“The Vols are suddenly 6-1 despite continuing to get very little from the quarterback position,” wrote Mandel after Tennessee’s win over Alabama. “Josh Heupel is grinding out wins with the combo of workhorse RB DeSean Bishop and a defense that suffocated Tide QB Keelon Russell. Not sure that’s going to keep working every week, but it helped that the Vols caught Alabama when they did.”

Look, it’s time for Mandel and the rest of the national media to face the facts.

This is a good Tennessee football team.

Like, really good. I’m talking national championship good.

Now, I’m not saying that is what’s going to happen. The Vols could crash and burn over the final five games of the regular season — they’ve gotta go earn it on Saturdays.

But Tennessee can play with anyone in the country. And the offense, which is continuing to improve, is only going to get better as George MacIntyre (and Faizon Brandon) gain experience. If the Vols stay healthy, they’re as big of a threat as anyone to win it all.

Who is unbeatable that’s in their way?

The Vols had a chance to beat Texas on the final play of the game, despite playing terribly on offense. I know Texas has slipped in recent weeks, but they beat an Ohio State team with a championship roster just two weeks before facing Tennessee.

If Tennessee hung in there with Texas while playing awful offensive football, then surely they can hang in there with Ohio State.

Even Georgia showed they’re not unbeatable on Saturday by losing to Auburn at home.

Miami looked mortal in a double overtime win over Florida State. BYU hasn’t played anyone outside of a Notre Dame team who also hasn’t played anyone. Indiana doesn’t look as dominant as they did a year ago.

Tennessee is just as good as any of those teams — maybe even better than some of them (especially if the offense keeps coming around).

Look, I’m not foolish enough to make any sort of predictions for Tennessee the rest of the season. College football is a crazy sport right now where there are very few results that would be surprising. No one knows how each Saturday is going to play out.

But this Tennessee team has the goods. They have the talent and toughness to be the best team in the country. They are relentless. We saw it in the second half of wins against Auburn, Arkansas, and Alabama. The Vols essentially said at halftime of those matchups, “This is our game and we’re going to go win it.”

We even saw that relentlessness in the loss to Texas. The Vols didn’t come out on the right side of the scoreboard, but they never stopped fighting and they gave themselves a chance.

So maybe a lot of folks don’t want to say it, and maybe this take will look foolish in two months, but this Tennessee team is a legitimate national championship contender in my eyes.