Paul Myerberg breaks down the latest US LBM Coaches Poll and discusses the Oklahoma Sooners’ playoff push.
Sports Pulse
Perhaps as expected when the college football season began two months ago, there are still two spots left for the SEC Championship Game as the conference heads into Week 14, commonly known as Rivalry Week.
So, who will travel to Atlanta?
Entering the final week of regular season competition, four teams remain in the mix for the conference championship game, including a pair of first-time appearances in No. 6 Ole Miss (No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings) and No. 3 Texas A&M (No. 3 in the CFP rankings). Two other programs are familiar with the SEC title game in No. 10 Alabama (No. 10 in the CFP rankings) and No. 4 Georgia (No. 4 in the CFP rankings).
Texas A&M is in good position to make the SEC title game, as the Aggies are the only undefeated team in the conference, going 11-0 overall and 7-0 in SEC play. The Aggies just need a win over No. 16 Texas (No. 16 in the CFP rankings), which has found its stride over the past few weeks except for a major hurdle against Georgia.
The team most likely to join the Aggies in Atlanta is Alabama. Despite being on the bubble of the 12-team CFP bracket as a two-loss team, the Crimson Tide’s four consecutive wins in 21 days over top-25-ranked opponents – Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Tennessee – has put Alabama one win away from returning to Atlanta for the second time in the last three years.
As far as the Rebels and Bulldogs are concerned, if they get some help from other SEC members in Week 14, they could find themselves in the SEC Championship Game, which is scheduled for Saturday, December 6 at 4 PM ET inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here’s a look at each team’s path to an SEC Championship Game berth entering Week 14:
SEC Championship tiebreaker
Alabama (9-2, 6-1 in SEC play)
- Path to the SEC Championship Game: beat auburn
Despite having a chance to clinch their spot in the SEC Championship Game with a home loss to Oklahoma in Week 12, Alabama still has a direct road to Atlanta. This is because the Crimson Tide need only a win in the Iron Bowl against Auburn to make their first trip to Atlanta under Kalen DeBoer.
A win over Auburn and an appearance in the SEC title game could also help Alabama’s College Football Playoff picture, as the No. 10 seed was right on the bubble when the fourth CFP Top 25 was unveiled on Tuesday.
Texas A&M (11–0, 7–0 in SEC play)
- Path to the SEC Championship Game: Beat Texas, or have Alabama lose to Auburn and Ole Miss lose to Mississippi State.
Similar to Alabama, Texas A&M also finds itself in a “win and you’re in” situation in Week 14. If the Aggies are able to defeat Texas on Black Friday, Mike Elko’s team will advance to the SEC Championship Game for the first time in program history.
However, if Texas A&M is unable to defeat Texas, there is another way to reach Atlanta. If Alabama loses to Auburn and Ole Miss loses to Mississippi State, the Aggies will still make the conference championship game.
Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1 in SEC play)
- Path to the SEC Championship Game: defeated Mississippi State; and Alabama’s loss to Auburn + Texas A&M’s loss to Texas
It’s hard to have a conversation about the postseason in this current moment without mentioning Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin. The Rebels are 10–1 on the season, hold the projected No. 7 seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket and are coming off one of their best seasons in recent program history.
Despite this, the Rebels’ path to Atlanta may be the toughest of the four teams in the mix, especially among the one-loss SEC teams. To make their first conference championship game, Ole Miss would not only need to defeat Mississippi State in The Egg Bowl, but the Rebels would also need to overcome Alabama’s loss to Auburn and Texas A&M’s loss to Texas.
The only thing that could keep Ole Miss from making the trip is a Week 8 loss to Georgia on the road.
Georgia (10-1, 7-1 in SEC play)
- Path to the SEC Championship Game: Alabama loses to Auburn, or Texas A&M loses to Texas.
Speaking of teams that need some help to make it to the conference championship, Georgia is one of them.
To make their fourth consecutive and eighth overall trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium under Kirby Smart to compete for another SEC trophy, the Bulldogs need either Alabama to defeat Auburn or Texas A&M to defeat Texas.
SEC tiebreaker rules
According to the Conference Office, the SEC’s tiebreaker rules work as follows:
- One. Head-to-head competition between tied teams
- B. Records among tied teams versus all general conference opponents
- C. The record against the highest (best) common conference opponent in the conference standings, and moving up through the conference standings among tied teams.
- D. Cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents between tied teams
- E. Capped relative total scoring margin according to SportsSource Analytics compared to all conference opponents between tied teams (see Appendix A)
- F. Random draw of tied teams
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