The SEC teams face CFP bounces where everyone knocks each other out

On November 17, 2024By Littum

It all plays out now, week after week like a sick joke. And there’s nothing the most powerful conference in college sports can do about it.

The SEC is eating itself on the road to the College Football Playoff, a self-destructive stretch that will undoubtedly end in the worst-case scenario.

A tiebreaker that decides who plays in the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff selection committee decides which deserving two-loss SEC teams stay home from the sport’s postseason extravaganza.

“This was complementary football at its best,” Florida coach Billy Napier said late Saturday afternoon after the game Gators officially knocked LSU out of the playoffs. “It felt like an NFL game.”

You wanted this NFL Light model, you got it, SEC. And everything that goes into building the perfect beast for a conference.

Florida hadn’t won a significant game in three seasons in Gainesville, but because the talent is there with the deep NIL budgets at every SEC school, there’s a chance they’d eventually put it all together. And now LSU is out.

South Carolina, perhaps the hottest team in the conference, officially eliminated Missouri from the SEC/CFP race with a last-minute victory. Hey everyone, a last minute win in the SEC!

Shocking, I tell you.

Finally, we give you Georgia, the biggest, baddest SEC boogeyman. You didn’t really think about that Dawgs was down for good after losing by 18 last week at Ole Miss, did you?

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck threw 12 interceptions over the previous six games (tied for most in the nation), then had the best game of his career as the Dawgs handed Tennessee its second loss of the season.

STAR TURN: Carson Beck shows up when Georgia needs him most

UP AND DOWN: Florida, Colorado lead Week 12 winners and losers

If you score at home, that’s two SEC teams with one conference loss (Texas, Texas A&M) and four with two losses (Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss).

“It’s tough to play on the road in this league,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after his team salvaged its season. “I keep saying that.”

Maybe someone on the CFP selection committee will listen. Or maybe Indiana, which hasn’t played a meaningful game all season, is in the CFP — win or lose at Ohio State next week.

Maybe Brigham Young will win out, and then win or lose in the Big 12 championship game, is in the CFP. Maybe the SEC gets four teams, or maybe it gets three.

Maybe the Big Ten gets four, despite two of those four – Indiana, Penn State – advancing without a win of significance all season. Just in case you think none of that could really happen, check out last week’s rankings.

Texas and Penn State have combined for 20 games this season. They’ve beaten one CFP-ranked team between them (Penn State vs. Illinois).

They were both ranked in the top five last week.

“I don’t know what they’re looking for anymore,” Smart said.

Here’s what to watch: Alabama beat Georgia, who beat Tennessee, who beat Alabama. And Ole Miss beat Georgia.

Later this month, one SEC team with one loss (Texas or Texas A&M) will beat the other.

It’s conceivable—and likely—that five of the six teams finish with two conference losses to end the season. How crazy can this November shakeout get?

The loser of the Texas-Texas A&M game could be out of the CFP. Because the loser of that game won’t have a resume that compares to the other two-loss SEC teams.

As a detriment: The loser of the SEC championship game is also likely out of the CFP.

“Look, it’s harder than ever,” Napier said of competing and winning in the SEC.

This is the beast they built. And there’s nothing they can do about it now.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for the USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.