So it begins: ESPN is already pushing to bail the SEC out of nightmare College Football Playoff scenario

So what we’re not going to do is make the argument that the College Football Playoff committee should consider a three-loss SEC team as it rounds out the seven at-large spots in the 12-team playoff. That’s not going to happen. 

A senior writer at ESPN, Heather Dinich, took to The Pat McAfee Show to make the appeal that three-loss SEC teams could find their way into the playoff.

I think it’s not out of the question. The SEC is one of the toughest conferences to play in. 

As a result, the teams should be rewarded with more margin for error. Especially when you look at all the possibilities that could happen, it’s not completely irrational to think a three-loss team could get in. 

But once you start making exceptions for one team, each team should have that same advantage. Why should a two loss team be kept out of the playoff because a three-loss team played a tougher schedule? That doesn’t add up. 

The playoff was expanded to add more opportunities for teams to get in, not create exceptions to make it a popularity contest. 

Considering a three-loss SEC team for the CFP isn’t fair and only adds more uncertainty

I hate the argument that since the inception of the College Football Playoff, three-loss teams have been ranked in the top 10 or top 12. Because back then the committee wasn’t considering playoff spots when seeding and ranking the teams. 

Essentially every team outside of the top four in the old CFP era was ranked and not seeded. As the College Football Playoff committee releases its rankings now, it’s based on teams being seeded in the playoff. 

The playoff is about rewarding teams that have good seasons. I’m not saying every two-loss team should be considered in the conversation over every three-loss team. Nor am I saying all losses and wins are even. 

You can’t convince me if Colorado loses in the Big 12 title game for its third loss, it doesn't deserve a spot over a team like LSU or Georgia if neither plays in their conference championship game. 

I think the College Football Playoff committee needs less ambiguous criteria to keep from things like this being a possibility. But with conference championship tie-ins for the highest ranked winners, making exceptions for three-loss teams just because of their conference schedule isn’t fair. 

Now if things get really convoluted with five or six, three-loss teams that’s a different conversation. But right now, finding a loophole for a conference that has established itself as one of the most powerful in all of college football seems a bit erratic.