College Football Playoff: How Every Conference Could Get Left Out

Let’s just hope he runs us all the way to a title. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

The SEC

A postseason without the SEC? Oh, the humanity. It can’t happen. There’s no way. At this point we’re basically a fixture in the postseason, whether it’s the BCS title game or the final 4.

But it easily could.

If Alabama or Florida wins out, they’re in. A one-loss SEC Champion with a respectable non-conference win (Alabama over Wisconsin, Florida presumably over FSU) is all but a shoe-in.

Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss can all still win the SEC West. LSU needs help to make it to Atlanta, but if Mississippi State or Auburn can knock off Alabama and LSU wins out, a win in Atlanta would get the Tigers an invitation to the Playoff.

For Bama, it’s win and we’re in. Arkansas took care of Ole Miss this weekend, so if Alabama wins out the Tide wins the west. As we’ve seen in three of the last four years, one loss Alabama is pretty well respected.

Even if everything breaks in favor of the Rebels and Ole Miss goes to the SEC Championship game for the first time, their three losses will keep them out of the playoff even with a win over Florida.

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Florida has won the SEC East, in spite of Vanderbilt’s best efforts to play spoiler. A loss at South Carolina, which is certainly unlikely but not impossible, would all but knock Florida out. If Florida lost to South Carolina and won the SEC, the playoff committee might eat their previous words about the importance of a conference champion and invite one-loss LSU as a 4 seed. But it’s more likely that the SEC would be watching the playoffs from the couch. A loss to Florida State and a win in the SEC Championship game would put the Gators and the conference in a similar bind.