It’s been a couple of days since the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were revealed and everyone is still trying to figure out why Tennessee is ranked No. 13 and Alabama is ranked No. 5.

Both programs are 6-2, and the Vols beat the Crimson Tide 26-10 in Knoxville last month.

That wasn’t the only ranking that has college football fans confused this week.

Wake Forest is 7-1 and ranked No. 16 while Notre Dame is also 7-1 but ranked No. 11.

Neither program has a signature win. Wake Forest’s loss is to No. 1 Miami and Notre Dame’s loss is to No. 9 BYU. If anything, those two teams should be right beside each other in the rankings.

But Notre Dame, just like Alabama, is getting the benefit of the doubt.

A lot of fans, and some in the media, believe this is nothing more than brand bias at play.

And ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit seemingly agrees.

“I know people are upset about Wake Forest,” said Herbstreit on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday. “What’s the difference between Wake Forest and whoever else, Notre Dame or whatever people are saying? This is my opinion on this stuff, and I think we’re all guilty of this. I remember Boise State years ago…nobody really knew much about Chris Petersen and Boise State, and then they kind of stacked about three years in a row of upsetting teams like Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl with the Statue of Liberty play, and they went over to FedEx Field in a non-conference game and beat a really good Virginia Tech team with Kellen Moore. They beat Georgia in the Georgia Dome — a highly ranked Georgia team. They traveled there and beat them. And after about three or four years, I think the masses started to go, ‘They’re no longer a cute story — they’re in the cool guy club now. People are accepting them as being a brand that’s real.

“But I feel like it takes some time to build that. I’m not saying that’s fair. I’m just saying that’s what I’ve witnessed with people. Like a Wake Forest coming out of nowhere, I think it’s hard for people to give them the benefit of the doubt because it’s new. And I think if the people inside that room are being honest, I’m guessing that’s part of the reason they’re still down at No. 16. They can say all they want about the schedule and the strength of record — I think it’s the fact that the teams ahead of them have a stronger reputation. And again, I’m not saying it should matter. I’m just saying I think it does.”

I think that’s clearly what’s happening. Alabama wouldn’t be ranked at No. 5 if their name wasn’t Alabama. Wake Forest would be ranked higher if their name was Notre Dame.

Ultimately, both Wake Forest and Tennessee are in control of their own destinies. If they win out, they’ll be in the playoff. But the brand bias stuff still needs to stop. What a team did in past years should have no bearing on where they’re ranked in the current year — especially in the portal era where rosters can change dramatically from year to year.