The Tennessee Vols still aren’t getting much respect from the national media despite a dominant win over the Alabama Crimson Tide this past weekend.

Tennessee is ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25 poll.

ESPN, meanwhile, has the Vols at No. 12 in their updated college football power rankings.

“After a weekend when the SEC’s three highest-rated teams lost, who’s to say that Tennessee isn’t a playoff contender after beating Alabama by two touchdowns?” noted ESPN’s Alex Scarborough. “The offense isn’t particularly fancy, but who needs that when you have DeSean Bishop averaging 172.3 rushing yards the past three games, and you have Jim Knowles’ defense getting after the quarterback and refusing to allow big plays?

“There’s a recipe for success there, especially if George MacIntyre can be efficient at quarterback the way he was against Alabama, completing 21 of 31 passes for 197 yards. The back half of the schedule, in SEC terms, is manageable with South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas A&M, LSU and Vanderbilt remaining.”

Rankings obviously don’t mean anything, but I’m having trouble understanding how Tennessee is only No. 12 despite a convincing 26-10 win over Alabama.

Here are the teams ranked above Tennessee.

1. Miami
2. BYU
3. Ohio State
4. Georgia
5. Notre Dame
6. UCLA
7. Indiana
8. Ole Miss
9. Texas Tech
10. Utah
11. Kentucky

I mean, how is Notre Dame at No. 5? What have the Irish proved that Tennessee hasn’t?

Notre Dame’s best win is against North Carolina. They haven’t done anything to be ranked in the top five (I argue that even a one loss Wake Forest should be ranked above Notre Dame — especially since the Demon Deacons’ only loss came against Miami).

There’s even a legitimate argument to put Tennessee right beside Georgia. The Bulldogs’ best win is against Alabama and they lost to Auburn at home. The Vols, meanwhile, also beat Alabama, and they beat Auburn at home.

Tennessee probably doesn’t mind getting slighted by the national media, but it continues to be confusing as to why the Vols get no respect.