The Tennessee Vols took care of business on Saturday against the then-No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats in a big way, cruising in the second half to a 34-6 win in Neyland Stadium.

While the game was close for three quarters, Tennessee pulled away and secured a 28-point win over the Wildcats. If that Kentucky margin of defeat is similar, it’s because it’s the same as the one that Alabama had over UK earlier in the year in a 45-17 win.

Yes, indeed, let the comparison continue between the Vols and the Crimson Tide, because it’s not going to stop as long as both teams continue as two-loss teams. The biggest gripe of many pundits in last week’s initial College Football Playoff rankings was the chasm between Alabama and Tennessee at five and 13, respectively.

With the results across the country, that gap should close, and the commanding head-to-head 26-10 win by Tennessee over Alabama back on Oct. 17 becomes even more relevant. BYU, Ole Miss, and Ohio State all were ahead of Tennessee. All lost and will all but certainly fall below Tennessee drawing the interstate rivals closer.

Alabama, who defeated LSU 31-13, will likely move up thanks to Miami losing and Indiana being idle. I would be shocked if the Tide aren’t three on Tuesday. As such, the Vols and Tide will likely not be in the same “pod” of teams to be considered.

Tennessee won’t be ahead of Alabama in next rankings, but they have every argument to be

But there’s zero reason they should not be. Tennessee has two wins over teams who will likely be in the top 15 in Alabama and Kentucky. Alabama has one — Kentucky. The committee confoundingly said last week they were impressed with the Tide’s win over Mississippi State when they were healthy.

Well, what about Tennessee’s win over an Auburn team that defeated Georgia? Right now, Auburn is clearly the better team, and Mississippi State has proven they have serious flaws beyond their QB play (other teams are operating and winning with backup QBs by the way, like Oregon).

Tennessee also has two three-point last second losses to teams in the top 25, including No. 7 Texas. Alabama has an ugly 26-10 loss on their resume to….Tennessee.

Tennessee won’t be ahead of Alabama come Tuesday night, when the next set of rankings are released. But they have every reason to be ahead of the Tide. They have the same record. Tennessee has more top-tier wins. Oh yeah, and they decided things on the field.

And no, South Carolina is not a part of a three-team triangle here. Alabama beat South Carolina, who beat Tennessee, who beat Alabama. The Gamecocks do not have the same record at 6-3, so that doesn’t work.

Like Miami last year with Notre Dame, the Vols will just have to keep winning and get close enough for the committee to rank the teams properly based on the results on the field.