The SEC isn’t the best conference in college football but here’s how it could still get two teams in the College Football Playoff with Alabama and Georgia
For the first three years of the College Football Playoff, one of the most frequently asked questions was if the SEC could get two teams in the four-team field. It was a question asked from a point of confidence as the conference was the unquestioned best conference in college football and the notion that the second best team could be one of the four best in the nation was within reason.
The SEC isn’t the best conference this year with the Big Ten taking that claim and at various times this year, the ACC was better from top to bottom than the SEC too. The SEC, however, is home to No. 1 Alabama and No. 5 Georgia, who I expect will move up to No. 3 in the new AP Top 25 that comes out later on Sunday. But wouldn’t you know it, this is the year that the SEC has the best chance to get two teams in the College Football Playoff.
Alabama plays Arkansas and Tennessee the next two weeks and outside of Missouri, there aren’t any teams playing worse than the Hogs and Vols. Alabama will rest after undoubtedly outscoring those two teams by 80-100 points before hosting LSU the first Saturday in November. What once was the SEC Game of the Year a few years ago is now “just another game” for the Crimson Tide with the way the Tigers have fallen off in recent years.
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The toughest remaining game on Alabama’s schedule is the Iron Bowl at Auburn. Alabama is not losing that game, health permitting and will enter the SEC Championship Game undefeated. Theoretically, they will be the No. 1 team entering that game and it would be inconceivable to drop them from No. 1 to No. 5 if they were to lose the conference championship game.
Funny enough, the toughest remaining schedule for Georgia is those same Auburn Tigers. The South’s Oldest Rivalry will resume Nov. 11. Provided the Dawgs get past a desperate Florida team in three weeks and avoid an upset-minded South Carolina team, Georgia will enter that game undefeated and ranked in the top 3. The game is at Auburn, but if Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Jake Fromm and the loaded Georgia defense win that game, they’ll have Atlanta set in their sights. Georgia has Kentucky and Georgia Tech after Auburn, but assuming they make it to the SEC Championship Game undefeated, and they lose, their one loss will be so much better than all of the other one-loss teams.
It’s literally impossible to have a more impressive loss on your resume than losing to No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Conference Championship Game. A one-loss Ohio State, USC or Oklahoma can’t make a case that would hold up to Georgia’s. Naturally, the toughest part will be getting to Atlanta undefeated for both Alabama and Georgia. but considering Auburn is the biggest test remaining, I like the SEC’s chances of making history and getting two teams in the dance.
Other variables factor outside the SEC factor into this history-making scenario. The remaining undefeated teams will need to be knocking each other off like the SEC used to do when they cannibalized other would-be contenders.
Scenarios needed for 2 SEC teams in the playoff
- ACC – Clemson needs to go undefeated. This means they have to win at NC State and avoid a situation where there’s a one-loss conference champion that’s not Clemson.
- Big 12 – TCU needs to lose to Oklahoma. If TCU goes undefeated, they’re in. A one-loss Big 12 team is not getting in.
- Big Ten – The best conference is going to eat each other alive in the next few weeks with Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State all playing each other. The big thing is Penn State and Wisconsin need to lose before a potential Big Ten Championship Game matchup.
- Pac-12 – Stanford is the best bet to beat Washington and Washington State. Even if they split, the Apple Cup will guarantee at least one loss. The Pac-12 champion just can’t be undefeated.
The best part about this now is the teams need to play the games. It’s great to prophesize and project playoff scenarios, but there is more than half the season remaining to play. Playoff rankings will come out in a few weeks and you’ll see Alabama and Georgia in the four-team field. Tuck that away and remember how the road to history is more likely than it’s ever been in the SEC despite the conference not being as dominant as previous years.
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And wouldn’t it only be fitting if the two meet in the National Championship Game with Georgia head coach Kirby Smart going his former boss, Nick Saban, and the school where he won four national titles as the school’s defensive coordinator?
What do you think? Is this just talk for the second week of October or a legitimate scenario that could play out between Alabama and Georgia?